In the flower hall of the inner courtyard, a lady dressed in rich clothes was lecturing.
There were several beautiful women standing next to each other. There were boys or girls standing next to each of them, and one or two stood alone with their hands hanging down.
Mrs. Lou, the third wife of Zheng, was sitting with her eyes closed, and she glanced down the hall.
After half a cup of tea, Fang Qikou said: "Sit down, everyone. It's so early in the morning. I'm afraid the children haven't had enough sleep yet."
The people standing in the row below all breathed a sigh of relief and each found a place to sit.
Mrs. Zheng San glanced at Mrs. Liu and glanced at her well-maintained face. She had to admit that her husband had been doting on her over the past ten years, and it was not without reason.
She lowered her head and said to the ten-year-old boy sitting next to her: "Feng'er, go and say hello to your aunt. It's not in vain that she gave birth to you."
Liu Meiniang was startled when she saw her son walking towards her. She quickly stood up and said, "Madam, you are trying to shorten Meiniang's life. Master Feng has been raising her by her side since he was born, and he has always been with Madam."
It's like a biological child, how dare I accept Master Feng's courtesy?"
When Zheng Yufeng saw that his aunt was blocking him and not allowing him to greet her, Zheng Yufeng glanced at his aunt sitting in the seat with some embarrassment.
When Mrs. Lou saw Mrs. Liu on the road, she felt comforted and her face softened even more.
He said to Zheng Yufeng: "Even if your aunt never raised you, you must not forget that she gave birth to you."
Zheng Yufeng said yes and bowed to Liu Meiniang. Seeing Liu Meiniang ducking away, he glanced at her and returned to Lou.
Mrs. Lou held him in her arms, rubbed and touched him, and asked him lovingly whether he slept well last night and how long he had been reading, and Zheng Yufeng also answered him one by one.
A scene of loving mother and filial piety.
Liu Meiniang watched secretly without showing anything on her face, but her heart was brewing with a vat of bitter water.
Her biological son was taken away as soon as he was born and raised with Lou, who had three daughters. In the past ten years, she had never been close to this son. Feng'er was also very alienated from her.
Fortunately, Mr. Lou loved Zheng Yuan's eldest son, and raised him as if he were his own child.
And she, Liu Meiniang, has rarely seen her son for a few times in a year since she gave birth to the child.
It was only after Brother Yue was appointed in Beijing that the Zheng family took her back to the inner courtyard. And the Lou family also let her see Feng'er when she went to pay her respects every day.
But every time she saw her son acting coquettishly in Lou's arms, her heart felt sour and bitter.
She was happy to see that Mr. Lou loved Feng'er. She was sad to see that Feng'er was alienated from her.
I don't want to see my son, but I miss him terribly. I don't know if he is eating well, wearing warm clothes, and whether he is wearing a quilt at night.
A loving mother's heart was crushed into several petals.
Fortunately, she later gave birth to two more daughters. Now both daughters are allowed to be raised by her side and live in the same yard with her. They usually keep her company to relieve her boredom, which somewhat eliminates some of her worries.
Liu Meiniang looked at the two daughters sitting next to her. One of the two daughters was eight years old and the other was six years old. They were at the age of innocence and radiance. Even though Zheng Yuan had many daughters, the two daughters he raised were still very popular with him.
like.
While Liu Meiniang was thinking wildly, she heard a woman come in and say: "Third Madam, the eldest master and eldest lady have ordered someone to send New Year's gifts."
Mr. Lou said yes and took the order.
After sweeping it, he threw it on the desk aside and hummed: "The old man hired him to be the magistrate of Fushu County in the south of the Yangtze River, but look at what he is sending back every year!"
The several aunts and concubines below all lowered their heads after hearing this. Due to their status, they did not dare to make irresponsible remarks on the eldest son who the old man had high hopes for.
Mr. Lou was quite angry.
Her mother-in-law gave birth to two sons, and the eldest son's father-in-law made him the magistrate of a prosperous county. Her husband Zheng Yuan was the only one who could not study well. Fortunately, he still had some talent in business, and all the property of the Zheng family has been managed by him in recent years.
But in terms of status, he is always inferior to Mr. Zheng. Now that his father-in-law and mother-in-law are in the house, the annual gifts given to Mr. and Mrs. Zheng are becoming less and less.
Mrs. Lou took the gift list and read it carefully, then glanced at Ms. Liu and said, "These are not as good as the gifts General Yue's wife gave to Aunt Liu a few days ago."
When Liu Meiniang heard what Lou said, she raised her head and glanced at Lou. She also saw several aunts looking at her with envious faces, and she felt quite proud.
Brother Yue remembered that his father had saved his life. Over the years, Brother Yue and his sister-in-law sent New Year's gifts to his parents' family every year. They also brought one to themselves every year.
She knew that Brother Yue Mingli was helping her so that her life at her husband's house wouldn't be too difficult.
She was grateful.
Over the years, with her help and the subsidies from Jingli Yue's elder brother and sister-in-law, my natal family also purchased some land. With the help of those rents, I also provided for my younger brother.
But after his younger brother won the imperial examination, he stopped moving forward. Originally, eldest brother Yue wanted to help him find an official position, but his mother said that his younger brother was weak and might not be able to withstand the ups and downs of officialdom.
Later, the younger brother took a teaching position in an academy in Qingchuan. He educated people and later married the teacher's daughter. Now the mother is at home raising her grandson. The family is happy and happy, and they don't have to worry about food and clothing.
And she was proud of the care she received from Brother Yue, and the old lady and Mrs. Lou in the mansion also thought highly of her.
Since she was brought back to the house from outside, no one in the house has made things difficult for her. She lives alone with her two daughters in a small courtyard, which is quite comfortable.
Just as Liu Meiniang was thinking about it, she heard Mr. Lou complaining, and then handed the gift list back to the old woman, saying: "Send it to the old lady to see."
The old woman responded and left.
Lou sighed. Although her parents-in-law let her take charge of the middle gift, she did not dare to make the final decision on her own when her eldest brother-in-law took back the new year's gift.
Fortunately, her natal family is a wealthy family, and her dowry is generous. In recent years, her husband has been in charge of the general affairs of the Zheng family, and her father-in-law has also been promoted from the magistrate of Qingchuan County to the magistrate of Yongzhou. Now the family does not lack New Year's gifts from the elder brother.
After sitting for a while, Lou took her three legitimate daughters and several concubines to pay her respects to the old lady. Liu Meiniang and other aunts then went back to their respective courtyards.
Before Liu Meiniang left, she looked back at Feng'er, who was holding Lou's hand with a cheerful expression on her face. Her small face was delicate and pretty, and she was smiling at the moment. She didn't know what she said to Lou, which made her laugh.
He laughed and rubbed and touched him. Lou's three daughters were also amused.
Liu Meiniang looked at it and raised the corners of her mouth. She didn't turn her head until Lou took Feng'er around the corner and disappeared.
Aunt Feng, who was standing next to her, glanced at her with disdain and said, "Humph, the son I worked so hard to give birth to was given away in vain."
Liu Meiniang glanced at her, then at her son standing next to her, and said to her with a smile: "He is raised by my side. It's great that he has the title of the eldest son of a concubine, but he is raised by my wife. But it's just that
Now that I have my eldest son, I can still tell the difference between good and evil. But some people want to send their sons to their wives, but they are afraid that the ladies still don’t want them."
After saying this, without even looking at Mrs. Feng's face which was turning green with anger, she took her two daughters and left.
In the prefecture, it was almost the twelfth lunar month, and the flowers had already faded away. But there was no desolation. The pavilions, pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings, rockeries and boulders were very magnificent.
Compared with the home before she got married, her previous home was a beggar's den.
When others saw her marrying into such a family and seeing her being so favored, they often looked at her with envy. Only she knew that her husband-in-law Zheng Yuan, the old lady, the old lady, and others were just looking at her in front of Brother Yue.
Just go up.
Zheng Yuan had several concubines. Mrs. Lou was not bad looking either, she was fat and thin. If it weren't for brother Yue, maybe she would have been raised outside as a shady outhouse.
When she was young, she thought it was good to be an outside wife, as she didn't have to set rules in front of her mistress and could be free. But after she gave birth to children, she realized that children born from outside wives were not even as good as concubine children.
She cannot let her children be unable to hold their heads up in the future, nor can she let her two daughters be unable to get married in the future.
When her Feng'er was born, Zheng Yuan took her back to the house and gave it to Lou, who could not give birth to a son, to raise.
She was sad and sad at the time, but thinking that her son could be raised as her legitimate son, she let her son be taken away.
Later, she gave birth to two more daughters. Just when she was thinking about how to squeeze into the house, eldest brother Yue was promoted step by step.
Without her planning, Zheng Yuan got his father's order and personally took her mother and daughter back to the house and created a family tree for the two daughters.
Over the years, Brother Yue and his sister-in-law have given her parents New Year's gifts and money every year, and they have not forgotten to give her a small share. Every time the old man saw someone from the General's Mansion, he would personally order someone to settle the stewards from the General's Mansion.
, each time Mr. Lou was given a generous gift in return.
With the old lady's attitude, the mother and daughter lived quite well. Zheng Yuan would always come to her yard a few days a month.
After her parents' family got better, every time her mother came back to see her, she would always hold her and cry, saying that she shouldn't have become someone else's concubine. She always asked if she regretted it.
Do you regret it?
It's regret.
Although she was living a pretty good life in the Zheng family, a concubine was a concubine. She was kept in the house all year round and never left the door. The flowers bloomed and faded, and they bloomed again after declining. She didn't even know it.
What has become of the outside?
And the son she gave birth to cannot be kept by her side. Although the Lou family does not treat her and her two daughters harshly, a concubine is a concubine, and there will be no place for aunts like them in the banquet in the house. Standing from Zheng Yuan
The person beside her will never be Liu Meiniang.
If she had persisted a little longer and not been dazzled by the wealth of the Zheng family, lingering around Brother Yue until he became successful and famous, would she have been able to dress in red, wear gold and jade, and go out to visit friends and entertain guests?
Brother Yue is now in the fourth grade. Moreover, Brother Yue is not even in his forties yet. My father-in-law has said that Brother Yue will have a bright future in the future.
She was so envious of the woman named Qiao Mingjin. She thought her status was inferior to hers, but she suddenly became the eldest daughter of a famous family! She accompanied her husband to work hard in the capital, and now she is the royal wife.
And she is still nesting in this square well day after day, year after year.
In the next life, if there is an afterlife, even if you marry into a peasant family and become a peasant woman who worries about food every day, you will no longer be greedy for such fleeting wealth.
In the next life, she will definitely be the original wife. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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