Early the next morning, Jiao Niang went to the old lady to pay her respects. The whole house was dyed red, and even the servants had red sweat scarves tied around their waists.

When Qiao Niang came over, the old lady was getting hairpins, and there were a bunch of people around her. Qiao Niang rolled into the old lady's arms and said wisecracks, making her laugh.

"When grandma puts on flowers, she suddenly becomes twenty years, no, forty years younger. If we go out on the street, people will think that we are sisters. If you put on my clothes again, huh, others will not think that you are sisters."

My sister."

The wrinkles on the old lady's face were like chrysanthemum petals. "You little monkey." She pointed at her and said to the crowd: "I don't know how you got such a clever mouth. You make fun of me, but I am happy in my heart. I can't bear it."

Get angry."

Everyone laughed, and someone said: "Miss Qiao has a sweet mouth, and the words she speaks are like honey. Who wouldn't like it?"

Another person said: "The old lady is kind and loves the younger generation. No matter what she says, it will be pleasant to your ears."

Someone else said: "After all, she is the old lady's granddaughter. She has a wise mind and a sharp tongue, which is comparable to the old lady back then. She is really lovable."

These are some relatives from the side branch, as well as people from the old lady’s natal family, who came over early in the morning to stay with the old lady.

After hearing these words, the old lady was even more happy and smiled from ear to ear.

"Jiao Niang is here." Seeing Jiao Niang coming, Grandma Mao whispered a few words to the old lady, and the old lady noticed her. After hearing the old lady's call, Jiao Niang stepped forward to bow, "Grandma Wan'an, Jiao Niang."

Mom, I wish you happiness as long as the East China Sea and as long as the Nanshan Mountain."

Turning her head slightly, Shuixiang came forward to give a congratulatory gift. The old lady opened it and saw that it was a double-sided embroidered table screen. One side was embroidered with pines and cypresses and cranes, and the other side was embroidered with flowers and wealth.

The old lady liked it, and others couldn't help praising her for her skill.

"Okay, okay, Mao Mao, reward me." Perhaps because she was happy, the old lady's voice was particularly cheerful today.

Aunt Mao brought a purse to my dear girl, which contained some gold thorns, small pearls and the like, for people to play with.

After a while, Brother An also came to kowtow. I don’t know who he learned it from. He knelt on the ground and drank several times, bowed his hands, and said, "I wish my grandmother to be as blessed as the long flowing water of the East China Sea, and to live as long as the evergreen pines in the Southern Mountains. I wish you good health and many years."

Longer life..." The little man said a lot of auspicious words, which made the old lady hold him in her arms and loved him very much.

"Young Master is so filial."

"The old lady is well-educated."

"..."

Those people flattered me again.

The Xifu family was the first to come. This was the first time Jiao Niang met the old man from the third bedroom. He is the only one of the brothers who is still alive.

As soon as he came in, he had to say birthday greetings, "Sister-in-law, I wish you a long life." The frightened old lady quickly asked Mrs. Cheng to support her and called her to sit next to her to talk.

While watching the third old man and the old lady talking, Jiao Niang would glance at the third old lady from time to time, or shake her hand, like a newlywed couple. She felt envious, turned her face, and unexpectedly walked to the door with Zheng.

Cheng Yu's eyes met.

Both of them had shy expressions on their faces. Jiao Niang pressed her chest, lowered her face, and raised her eyes to look at him again. He had already walked in, came to Cheng's side, and murmured in a low voice. She saw Cheng's face changed greatly, and there was a hint of faintness.

Turning white and angry, he calmed down, walked to the old lady, and whispered again.

The smile on the old lady's face suddenly faded, and she seemed to be smiling but not smiling, "Then please come in."

Cheng's eyebrows raised, "But..."

The old lady touched the complicated embroidery on her sleeves. She lowered her eyes and couldn't see the look in her eyes. "The visitor is a guest. How can you refuse a guest?"

Mrs. Cheng clenched her hands into fists, took a deep breath, and shouted angrily at Cheng Yu, who then left.

Cheng Yu, Junze Junrui and others were waiting for guests at the front door early in the morning. Did someone come? Jiao Niang was confused. She turned around and saw that the old lady was already smiling, Yan Yan, talking to the third old lady and his wife.

The fourth lady, Murong, was sitting under the three old ladies. When she saw Jiao Niang, she was very happy. She asked her to greet her and introduced her to Yao Niang. Yao Niang was beautiful, elegant and spoke as straightforward and forthright as Murong.

I like it when I see it.

But after a while, I saw the old lady from Nanfu leading a group of people in. The third lady and mother and daughter Qian Niang had already met. The man supporting the second old lady was about sixteen or seventeen years old, and he was quite handsome.

, but she is too thin, her eyes are a little sunken, and she looks vaguely unhealthy.

Jiao Niang guessed that the only one at this age who could support the old lady was her grandson, Hua Junzhi.

Jiao Niang couldn't guess the people following behind. They were a woman in her thirties or forties, a pair of young sisters, an old man about the same age as the third old man, and a young boy.

The second old lady only has one son and one legitimate grandson. Who are these people? Are they the second uncle’s concubine, concubine, concubine, daughter-in-law, and father-in-law?

Jiao Niang secretly guessed, then she heard the old lady say: "You guys from the fourth room are here too. You are such a rare visitor. Please sit down and talk."

Only then did Jiao Niang realize that these were the orphans and widowed mothers from Beifu.

But haven't Beifu and Dongfu been in contact with each other for several years? Jiao Niang looked for Qiao Niang, but Qiao Niang had already walked to her and muttered: "It's so annoying, what are they doing here?"

The two of them stood behind Mrs. Cheng, listening to Qiao Niang's complaint. Mrs. Cheng turned her head and motioned for her to stop talking.

Qiao Niang was not convinced, snorted softly, and gave the whole family a fierce look.

Youshi, who lives in the fourth room, sat down and smiled, "Auntie is blaming us for not coming to visit? In the early years, the family was in a difficult situation. How could you have the dignity to visit such a wealthy family without fearing that your coarse clothes and shoes would stain the threshold of your home?"

Now that my life is getting better, I have some dignity, so I dare to visit you."

She was dressed in a golden dress, with a gold necklace hanging around her neck. She held up the gold hairpin on her temples in a pretentious manner, revealing a row of gold bracelets on her wrists.

Qiao Niang let out a sigh and whispered: "You dress like a nouveau riche."

Youshi looked at the maid beside her and said in a sharp voice, "Jinju, give me the birthday gift I prepared for the old lady."

The maid responded and came forward with a green brocade box in her hand. Aunt Mao took it and opened it to show the old lady. It was a golden Buddha.

The old lady glanced indifferently and said, "Four-fang family, what you said is a big deal. We are originally a family, and we should move around more between relatives. If you dirty the doorstep, don't say this again in the future. It's okay."

Let outsiders laugh."

He turned to the second old lady and said, "It's really strange today that you two are here together."

The second old lady always disliked the fourth bedroom and never had any contact with her. In the past few years, the first bedroom had always been in charge of the fourth bedroom. People in the second bedroom would stay away when they saw the people in the fourth bedroom.

Qiao Niang secretly looked at the people in the fourth room, feeling very strange, so she asked Qiao Niang softly, "Has fifth aunt remarried?"

Qiao Niang stared at her and pointed at the old man sitting under Youshi. Qiao Niang covered her mouth and almost laughed. She dragged Jiao Niang to the back and whispered, "I heard from Mao Mao two days ago.

I told the old lady that the fifth aunt married off Zhu Niang as a concubine to a member of the neighboring city, and it must be this person."

Jiao Niang's jaw dropped in surprise. Zhu Niang was the same age as Qiao Niang, only a few months older than her. She was only fourteen this year, but she married an old man who was over fifty years old as a concubine. A poem immediately came to mind.

, a pear tree with begonias in bloom.

Qiao Niang said: "If I hadn't seen it today, I wouldn't have believed it. Poor Zhu Niang, at such a young age, she has to spend her whole life in exchange for the glory and wealth of her family."

Jiao Niang was shocked that there was such a mother in the world. She looked at Zhu Niang with pity. She lowered her head and sat there quietly. She was very petite and looked like a child, but she combed her hair.

The bun looks so awkward.

At this time, I heard the second old lady say: "The third son of our family is now a business partner with Zhu Niang's son-in-law, and they often come and go. Yesterday, the fifth son of the fifth family came to my place and said that he was afraid that he would not be welcome when he came to your house alone, so he thought I would lead him.

You won’t chase people away.”

"What are you talking about? How can there be any reason for the whole family to be expelled?" The old lady leaned over and looked at her, squinting her eyes, "Is this Zhu Niang's son-in-law?" The person facing her was not the old man, but another young man.

Youshi's cheek twitched and she managed a smile, "That is Yueniang's son-in-law, and this is Zhuniang's son-in-law."

The officer stood up and kowtowed to the old lady, "Guo Neng, my grand-niece and son-in-law, pays homage to the old lady and wishes her a long life."

The old lady looked at her grandson-in-law who was about to catch up with her age, took a deep breath, and forced a smile on her face, "Get up, my grandniece-in-law is really——" The old lady wanted to praise her, but she couldn't find a good one at the moment.

words to describe.

Murong hid her handkerchief and snickered, then added, "Mature and steady."

The old lady nodded, said "yes" twice, and then changed the subject, "How old are you this year?"

Guo Neng replied: "As far as the old lady is concerned, this year Guo will be fifty-three."

In a few more years, he can live a full sixtieth life like her.

The old lady didn't ask anything else, she just told him to treat Zhu Niang well. Then she looked at the young man, "Is this Yue Niang's son-in-law?"

The young man stood up, bowed, and said a few words of birthday wishes. Then a pair of peach blossom eyes appeared, which were very handsome and gave people the impression of oily hair and pink face. The old lady asked her age again, and she was several years younger than Yueniang.

age.

Qiao Niang lay down in Jiao Niang's ear and whispered that the younger son-in-law could be the elder son-in-law's grandfather.

The old lady asked questions, rewarded her, and then talked to the third lady again, "Why didn't you bring Brother You?"

Brother You is the concubine of Mr. Hua Sanye who won two yuan in a row. The third wife has always disliked him and even regarded him as a thorn in her side. "He, he is a child who has never seen the world. He is not worthy of such an occasion."

Murong glanced sideways and said sharply: "Three Sister-in-law said this to be unfair to one another. They are both Third Brother's children. Why is it that Brother Zhi and Qian Niang deserve to be here, but Brother You doesn't deserve to come? Third Sister-in-law, it's not me."

Speaking of you, you, as a legitimate mother, can do something different than a legitimate concubine."

The third lady was sulky and sneered: "The fourth brother and sister are too lenient."

Murong raised his eyebrows at her, "It's not my fault, I'm doing it for your own good. If word gets out that you treated a concubine harshly, it will damage your reputation."
Chapter completed!