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In the small and elegant courtyard, several banana plants moved from the south were hanging in the wind. A half-open screen window was exposed among the red flowers and green willows. A young woman in her early twenties, dressed in traditional Chinese dress, sat by the window, lowering her head and concentrating on threading. r?an

?．

?r?a?n?w?e?n?a`?A little maid with a bun in a bun came over with a tea tray and whispered: "Grandma Four, please have a rest. It's been all afternoon. I'll give it to you."

Neck pinch."

The young woman raised her head and said with a smile: "Okay." She put down the embroidery bandage in her hand and blew the tea gently.

The maid pinched the young woman's shoulders and neck and muttered: "...the shoulder sockets are stiff, like wood. Grandma doesn't care about herself. When she turns around, Fourth Master feels sorry for her and shows us shame again."

The young woman smiled shyly and did not answer.

She has been fond of needlework since she was a child, and she is good at embroidery. After entering the family, she often made clothes and accessories for her sister-in-law, nieces and nephews, as well as her mother-in-law and mother-in-law who lived far away, and she was praised very much.

Her husband asked her to do less work several times, but she just smiled shyly. That time, she finally asked back: "Do you know what my maiden name is?" Her husband was handsome and kind-hearted, but he suddenly joked:

"I know, it's called Little Mouse." She pretended to refuse, and her husband laughed when he was hit, and then said: "Okay, okay, I don't dare...well, I heard my mother-in-law call you Erya."

She said shyly: "That's a nickname, it's a nickname. I have a serious maiden name, it's called Xiuqiao." She stretched out her finger and slowly drew two words in the air, feeling a little proud.

"My sister-in-law and sister-in-law are so capable, knowledgeable and knowledgeable. I can't even win over them. I still have some work that I can do to meet people, so just ask me to show off my skills..." She lowered her voice and said, "It's cold.

Well, Aunt Xiang’s legs and feet are not good, so I’ll make her leggings.”

Her husband's eyes were overflowing with love and affection, and he leaned close to her ear and whispered in her ear: "When it comes to studying and being a human being, I can't win over my two brothers. Let's make a couple and never be separated for the rest of our lives."

Xiuqiao's heart is filled with sweetness, and she is so happy that she is about to fly. Her husband is considerate, gentle, and has a pure heart. There is nothing superfluous in the house. Since the couple got married, they have always been sweet and thoughtful, without even blushing.

Once.

Everyone said that she was blessed. Over the years, many sisters who had become prosperous with the Shen family had married into high-ranking families, but few of them lived as well as she did.

The Sheng family is a scholarly family, and all the men in the family have great reputations. Regardless of the marriages of several girls, there are many prominent and powerful officials among the in-laws, who are truly rich and powerful.

My father-in-law is a kind-hearted man and has a very upright character (in Xiuqiao's eyes). Although he doesn't see his daughter-in-law often, he has repeatedly warned them that they must first get the family together so that everything can go smoothly. They must not indulge in concubines or destroy their wives.

Something that harms the home.

Just for this reason, the elder brother in my husband's family who was famous in the capital was scolded and scolded by his father-in-law more than once, and he had to rely on his sister-in-law to save him every time.

Xiuqiao witnessed it twice. Once, my brother made a mistake with a bad friend outside, and was led to visit a brothel, where he also met a "wonderful girl" who was a performer but not a prostitute. He was so frightened that his father-in-law turned blue and was very worried.

My brother was not allowed to go out for two months, and he also had 20 boards to copy the Sheng family's family mottos five times - one of which was that the Sheng family brothers must not get involved with brothel girls.

In fact, Xiuqiao felt that her father-in-law had gone too far. Scholars tended to be arty. Even her nerdy second brother had visited a brothel and was just having fun. No serious father-in-law would take it seriously. Why should his father-in-law be so angry?

Even if you become a father, you won't be given face anymore.

Unexpectedly, the husband-in-law sighed and said: "You don't know, we used to have an uncle. The great-grandfather left a fortune of tens of millions, as well as his biological daughter, and a good family was all destroyed in the hands of a brothel girl. Don't we younger generations have no idea?" We met, but my father saw it with his own eyes."

Another time, two months before the Spring Festival, a girl who was serving in my brother's study suddenly reported that she was pregnant. At that time, my father-in-law was making great efforts to urge her son to prepare for the exam. The servants inside and outside were punished all over, and they even drove the pregnant girl away to the village, saying harshly, "If you don't succeed again this time, you will neither keep nor the mother."

Later, I found out that I was among the top two in the rankings.

In fact, my brother is very smart, well-educated, and enthusiastic. Ever since the Sheng and Shen families got married, he has enthusiastically brought Xiu Qiao, the nerdy second brother, to see the world. He went to the Jingyi Association and introduced several great scholars to Shen. The second brother was overjoyed and repeatedly told Father Shen and Mother Shen that the marriage was going well.

What I lack is just the kind of perseverance in my bones. From time to time, he will fall off the chain, and he needs a determined person to get him back on the right track - such as his father-in-law, such as...sister-in-law.

In fact, although my brother loves flowers and grass, he respects and loves his sister-in-law very much... well, almost in awe; however, my sister-in-law is fair and just in dealing with things and has good skills, so she deserves this respect.

At first, Xiuqiao felt trembling because her sister-in-law was solemn and solemn, and not as amiable as her elder sister-in-law. However, as time passed, she found that her sister-in-law was actually a very good person, and she was willing to patiently teach her the principles of management and hospitality.

She happily told her husband about this discovery. Unexpectedly, he laughed and said: "Brother is like that. If the sister-in-law doesn't keep a straight face and adhere to some rules, the house will be in chaos. As for the sister-in-law... you have also seen the eldest brother." Yes, like him, if my sister-in-law didn't talk more and smile more, how could I still live that day?"

When Xiuqiao mentioned her elder brother, she couldn't help but stick out her tongue, expressing that she couldn't bear it.

The eldest daughter-in-law of Sheng's parents was away on assignment. So far, Xiuqiao had only met her eldest brother once in person, but she felt more nervous than meeting her father-in-law. She was not the only one who felt this way. He occasionally dared to laugh a few words in front of his father-in-law. , his father discussed poetry together, but in front of his eldest brother, he could only stand with his hands down honestly, not even daring to move his eyebrows.

That year, my eldest brother could open his mouth to call people, and his milky voice was so cute. Seeing that his father-in-law liked him, he tried hard to bring back the birth mother from the village, "... If it doesn't work, I can just ask my aunt to see the child." , at any rate, at least he is her grandson..."

I heard that when I was talking, I started crying.

My father-in-law seemed to be a little soft-hearted, but unfortunately my brother was unlucky. It happened that my eldest brother had something urgent to do and returned to Beijing to report on his work. When he learned about this, he immediately passed by and he immediately became speechless.

"Bring it back for what? Come back to harm others."

The eldest brother didn't say anything to his face. He turned around and called his younger brother. The brother closed the door and started talking, "Look at the sisters in the family. Except for the fourth sister, none of them are happily married and have children around their knees. If it weren't for Aunt Lin, how would the fourth sister's marriage be possible? So far! As a concubine, not only do I have no respect for Lao He, but I don’t even pay attention to the master’s ideas. I am acting recklessly and relying on you.”

Xiu Qiao had also heard about the story of the fourth girl of the Sheng family. Back then, the Liang family held a hug and got married, which was not without criticism. Although the Liang and Sheng families claimed to the outside world that it was an accident, many people secretly talked about it, saying that it was an accident. The Sheng family was not strict in running the family, and even the concubines and concubines dared to openly plot against Duke Hou.

Finally, we got married and covered everything with a hijab, and the discussion gradually died down.

"You are also a father. If there is a concubine in the future who relies on your favor to make a living as a commoner - it will only take a few years to come back anyway - you will be the lintel of the Sheng family.

It deserves to be ruined several times."

The eldest brother didn't speak very loudly, his tone was light, but his words were like needle pricks, and there was blood everywhere. He was sweating at the time, and almost cried in the end.

At this time, the eldest brother suddenly softened his voice, helped him sit next to him, and persuaded softly: "As men, we rely on our family background to become adults, and our ability to become adults later. You are no longer a child at the knees of your parents. You have

After having a wife and children, you will have to support a family alone in the future. If you don’t have a definite plan and only act according to your heart’s feelings, wouldn’t you be no different from a woman!”

"If you hold grudges against my eldest brother, we will have nothing to do with each other until my father is old. Although we are not born from the same mother, we are blood relatives after all. Don't I hope that you two will have a good future? Even if I don't mean that you will shine in our family.

, but at least you must be able to stand up in society. As a man, right and wrong come first, and affection comes last. It does not mean that you are ruthless and unjust, but you have to enclose affection in the regulations!"

According to the husband-in-law, in the end, I hugged my eldest brother's legs and cried bitterly. He kept crying and howling about his fault. He swore to the sky that he would never be stupid again and that he must put the family first. His innocent younger brother was also reprimanded.

, take a stand and swear together.

After being scolded stupidly, the husband returned to the house, and it took him a while to come to his senses, hugging his beloved wife and whimpering - this was Xiuqiao's last attempt to take Aunt Lin back as far as he knew.

It is said that after the incident, I sent a letter to my father-in-law, saying directly, ‘As long as she is alive, don’t even think about taking Aunt Lin back.’ From then on, my father-in-law didn’t even mention her anymore.

"Grandma, why bother? Anyway, the eldest brother has already convinced me." Wouldn't this be inviting disdain to the children and grandchildren?

The husband-in-law sighed: "Grandma is such a person. Although she doesn't like to talk, she has no mercy in her heart. She is afraid of quarrels between her father and brother, so she wants to take all the unhappiness on herself."

Xiuqiao has never met this grandmother a few times. She is shy by nature and doesn't know how to talk. She doesn't know what to say in front of her. She just feels that she is a little cold and not easy to get close to. But when she talks casually every day, her husband always says

Grandma is the most sincere person in the family.

After thinking about it for a while, Xiuqiao realized that she had missed the Wang family. As a daughter-in-law, sometimes serving her mother-in-law is more important than serving her husband--but she didn't have this problem at all, because her serious mother-in-law stayed in her hometown all year round.

In the temple.

What to do? Pray for the frail old man.

A very strange statement. Even though she is as innocent as embroidery, she also knows that it is not simple, but she is obedient and timid by nature, and she never asks more than she should.

The serious mother-in-law is not here, but there is a deputy mother-in-law at home to take care of her, Aunt Xiang.

Before she got married, Shen's mother was worried about how her daughter would get along with this concubine. It was not a matter of taking it lightly or taking it seriously. Who knew that all these worries were unnecessary.

Aunt Xiang was unexpectedly sensible. She only called Xiu Qiao the "fourth grandma" from beginning to end. She treated her with respect and politeness, which was not much different from her treatment of grandma Liu. She never said a word about what happened in her own son's house. Later, Xiu Qiao was treated with courtesy and respect.

I happened to know that not long before they got married, Aunt Xiang told her father-in-law to properly send away the two cousins ​​​​who were serving in her husband's house.

Aunt Xiang was not very beautiful, far less beautiful than Aunt Jufang who served her father-in-law, but she had a delicate and calm look of her own. When she smiled, she looked exactly like her husband, but her eyes looked more tired and haggard. She looked at her.

As I got older, I still often stood in front of my father-in-law's house, opening the curtains, serving water and tea, and became very sad while doing embroidery skills.

People with good sewing skills usually have good eyesight, and they carefully observed Aunt Xiang's figure for a long time, and then secretly made a set of close-fitting clothes, made of light and soft cotton material, and fine stitching, as if they were made for her mother.

In that way, with a grateful heart, every stitch is done with great care. Then, the little maid is asked to secretly send it over.

Aunt Xiang put away her clothes and said nothing. She just looked at Xiuqiao with a gentler look and a bit of heart-wrenching gratitude. Xiuqiao was happy in her heart, and from then on she often made small items close to her body to provide warmth in winter.

Hat, summer waistcoat, soft and comfortable slippers, exquisite muff... Aunt Xiang also secretly asked people to spread the word, telling Xiuqiao not to do it again.

Xiuqiao nodded obediently, and after a while, she continued to do it. Soon, her husband knew it. That night, he sat with her arms around her for a long time, his head resting heavily on her neck, and she could feel the wetness on her shoulders.

Lu.

About half a year after entering the house, Aunt Xiang suddenly fell ill.

It was just an occasional cold that made him ill for a long time. The famous old doctor in the capital sighed, "I work so hard and worry so much that my body slowly wears down as time goes by." After finally recovering from the illness, I became even thinner.

After walking around, the clothes seemed empty.

Xiuqiao suddenly remembered that that year, Uncle Shen's eldest wife, Mrs. Zou, was also like this. The doctor said that she had worked hard for half her life and was so worried that she was so exhausted that she couldn't bear even ordinary ailments.

Aunt Xiangxiang had been miserable since she was a child. She had no father or mother and was sold away. She was helpless in the house. The eldest wife had a bad temper, so she had to be careful about socializing. Aunt Lin, who was even more favored, had to be on guard at all times and did not dare to

After more than ten years of standing on tiptoe, she managed to marry her son and start a family. After gaining fame, she had to continue to endure.

Xiuqiao felt sad for a while. One time when she went to visit a doctor, when no one was in the room, she quietly walked over and leaned into Aunt Xiang's ear: "Auntie, you must take care of yourself and live a long life. She separated our families and pointed out...

I'm asking my aunt to teach me how to live my life and raise my children."

Aunt Xiang's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She patted her hand weakly and whispered: "You are a good boy. It is his blessing that the Fourth Young Master can ask you to be his wife."

If she were a noble girl from a famous family like my sister-in-law, she might not be able to pull it down or let her figure down. But Xiuqiao has no burden in this regard at all. She is Mother Shen's caring little daughter, and she has never followed any high-class rules since she was a child.

, I’m used to acting like a spoiled child on my parents, but now it’s easy for someone else to do it.

She often came to Aunt Xiang and bit her ears when no one was around.

"Auntie, my husband is still like a child. He studied until midnight yesterday and got on the kang without burning his feet..."

"Auntie, I asked my husband to have midnight snacks at night, but he forgot while reading. He didn't listen to me. You can teach him a lesson later..."

"...Auntie, my husband's birthday is coming soon. Let's make him whatever he likes to eat, okay?"

Probably because of her thoughts, Aunt Xiang's spirit gradually improved, and she became more and more friendly to her in private, but she still didn't dare to show too much in public. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were like hide and seek, with a little...

The secret of warmth.

Others may not know it, but Xiuqiao always felt that her smart sister-in-law had noticed it a long time ago, but she just didn't point it out again. Later, when the two sisters got acquainted, the sister-in-law once sighed: "Actually, Aunt Xiang... you and your fourth brother are like this

So-so, it’s pretty good.”

Xiuqiao understood what she meant.

Although my brother is worse than his husband-in-law in every way, there is one thing that he is far inferior to. When the day of separation comes, if my brother really takes the restless Aunt Lin to live with him, my sister-in-law will be in trouble. Their two rooms are exactly the opposite. , Xiu Qiao is looking forward to breaking up the family early so that she can take Aunt Xiang out to enjoy the happiness; while the sister-in-law is looking forward to breaking up the family later, so she can best endure Aunt Lin's death first.

But what kind of person is that Aunt Lin? She actually bothers such a sweetheart like my sister-in-law so much.
To be continued...