The daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law stood waiting on the ground floor, while the girls sat and ate with Jia Mu. This is the rule of the Jia family.
At this time, Li Wan and Wang Xifeng, one on the left and the other on the right, stood at the table giving orders to Jia Mu. There was no master next to them, and there were a number of maids who were busy whisking dust, rinsing bowls, and serving handkerchiefs.
According to etiquette, Baoyu sits on the first chair on the left hand side of the table, and Daiyu sits on the second chair. Yingchun sits first on the right hand, Tanchun sits second on the right hand, and Xichun sits third on the right hand.
No words were spoken when eating, and no words were spoken when sleeping. Everyone was eating, and there was total silence.
Although there were only twenty or thirty people in the house, and there were more wives and maids waiting outside, there was not even a cough inside or outside.
By the time the meal was over, everyone had rinsed their mouths and washed their hands. Another maid brought some tea, and everyone sat down to drink it.
Jia Mu then said to Mrs. Wang as before: "You go ahead and let us talk freely."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang quickly stood up and chatted a few more words as usual before leading Li Wan and Wang Xifeng out.
According to the rules, Li Wan will go with Mrs. Wang to serve Mrs. Wang for dinner. Wang Xifeng will take a car to the old garden of Rongfu to serve Mrs. Xing, who did not come to serve Jia's mother for dinner today because Jia She was drunk. Daughters-in-law from aristocratic families are far less comfortable than girls.
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But Jia Mu opened her mouth:
"Girl Feng, just stay here with me today. I'll put a table for you over there. You can eat by yourself. After you're done, come over and talk to us.
On the other side of the eldest lady, I just ask Yuanyang to go over and say something."
Seeing Jia Mu's attitude towards Wang Xifeng, Mrs. Wang felt even more unhappy, but she had nothing to say.
Mrs. Wang just walked out of the door with her head down, until she was out of the corner door, and suddenly scolded Li Wan:
"What's happened to the boy Lan in the past two days? You just abandon the affairs of the house and don't care about it. What will happen if something happens?
If you were following me, when Wu Xindeng's family was having fun in the little flower hall, you, the sister-in-law, should have stepped in to stop her. How could Bao Yatou be so frightened?
Bao Yatou is a child-minded person, and she values face and rules the most. We relatives live together, and if we cause such a thing to offend someone, what kind of behavior will it be? How did you become a sister-in-law?"
Li Wan came from a scholarly family and originally had a somewhat aloof temperament.
Unfortunately, due to bad luck, not long after she married into the Rongguo Mansion, her husband Jia Zhu suddenly fell ill and died, leaving only a posthumous son, Jia Lan.
Although Li Wan had vaguely heard some gossip between Jia Zhu and Dongfu, he did not dare to inquire about it for fear of offending his mother-in-law, Mrs. Wang.
In a deep house like the Jia Mansion, where the undercurrents are surging, rumors and rumors are everywhere, and the widow Li Wan can only act like a dead tree, unknown to anyone. In fact, it is just to protect herself.
Just place all your hopes on your son Jialan.
But no matter how indifferent she was, she still couldn't escape the "dislike" of her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wang.
Although there are aristocratic etiquette to take into account, and the mother-in-law has to be careful with her words for the sake of her own face, it is not easy to scold her daughter-in-law, but those disgusting eyes and mean expressions are still very lethal.
Coupled with the many overt and covert gossips, criticisms and slanders around her, the life of the widow Li Wan is actually very difficult, but it is just a torment day by day.
Because of this, Li Wan doesn't care too much about the fact that the second room has lost the power of being the head of the Rongguo Mansion.
Anyway, according to the current situation, neither Baoyu, who is the second son of the second wife, nor Jialan, who is the eldest grandson of the second wife, will not get the Rongguo Mansion in the future. In this way, maybe the mother-in-law will not be as hostile to Jialan and herself as before.<
/p>
But at this time, it seems that Mrs. Wang, the mother-in-law, is still not reconciled.
Li Wan just lowered his head and listened to Mrs. Wang making things difficult for him, but he said in his heart:
"First of all, you supported Sister Feng to deal with the eldest lady. Now I want to see what methods you have to deal with Sister Feng.
Anyway, my son is sensible, obedient and loves to study. He will definitely get a good name in the future and start a family of his own. He is not like Baoyu, who can only count on the property in this house. Now that it has failed, I want to see who you can count on in the future.
."
But he didn't want to follow Mrs. Wang's yard. Zhou Rui's family rushed in angrily and whispered a few words in Mrs. Wang's ear. Mrs. Wang's face suddenly changed:
"Ah? So many?"
Then he lowered his face and ordered Li Wan:
"Since Mr. Lan is not happy, I don't need you to serve me here.
You go back and take good care of your child. Don't make others laugh. I don't care about my grandson."
Li Wan Nuonuo said repeatedly, quickly retreated, took his girl Biyun, and walked silently towards his small courtyard.
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At this time in Jia Mu's room, Wang Xifeng had already eaten outside. When he came back to Jia Mu's room, he saw Baochai also coming, sitting on the chair closest to Jia Mu, chatting with Jia Mu.
Wang Xifeng didn't like Baochai, so when she saw her coming to ask for favors again, she walked in and said with a smile:
"I can't blame the old lady for praising Miss Bao. As expected, Miss Bao is kind-hearted and well-educated.
Today, I was so frightened by Wu Xindeng's family, and chased by Wu Xindeng's family, that I ran from the small flower hall to my wife's Buddhist hall in one breath. Fortunately, everything is fine now. If I frightened my relatives, I can teach you.
How can we live in peace?"
When Baochai saw Wang Xifeng come in, she felt a little scared. Especially when she saw that she had exposed him and ran to Mrs. Wang as soon as they met, it was inevitable that the old lady would wonder why Wu Xindeng came to the old lady to make trouble again. p>
It’s just that she has always been steady and steady, and she thinks she can face all embarrassments gracefully. She pursed her lips and smiled, thought of a nice word in her mind, and then said:
"I was so scared today that I ran all the way along the corridor. I was so panicked that I didn't even know where I was going.
Later, I don’t even know whether Wu Xindeng’s family came after him.
Later, when I went back to Lixiangyuan, I finally regained my composure. Firstly, I was afraid of the old ladies, and the ladies were worried. Secondly, only by going to the old ladies could I feel at ease."
Wang Xifeng wanted to expose Baochai, but a maid outside said:
"Second Master Lian is here."
When Jia Lian came in, Jia Mu smiled and asked him if he had eaten, and then asked Wang Xifeng with a smile:
"Is this the head of your household here to pick up your wife?"
Wang Xifeng immediately smiled and said:
"Where did he come to pick me up? He was afraid that I could not serve the old lady well, so he came here to 'supervise' the work."
Jia Lian also smiled and said:
"Why should I supervise the work? If she doesn't take good care of her, the old lady will just beat her."
Jia's mother was a joking person, and she could get rid of many worries when she was joking. At this moment, when she heard this, she held Jia Lian in one hand and Sister Feng in the other, asked them to sit next to her, and said with a smile:
"I see you in peace and harmony, and I rejoice."
When Jia Lian saw Jia Mu happy, he said:
"Today, Lai Dafei bit his tongue and committed suicide. There is no housekeeper in our house for the time being. I want Jia Yun, the son of the fifth sister-in-law on the back porch, to come in and help. Can this be done if the old lady sees it?"
When Jia Mu heard this, she was stunned for a moment and then sighed:
"If something like this happened to Lai Da, it was his fate, no different than anyone else's.
Since you are in charge of this house, you can do whatever you want."
After a pause, he said again:
"I'm old. I can just talk and laugh with these granddaughters. There are many things in the house that I can't worry about anymore."
Wang Xifeng was about to tell a joke to cheer up Jia Mu, but she heard Baochai say:
"If we need manpower to build the garden, my brother can also come and help."