When the golden wind blows, it is time to eat crabs. In previous years, Minglan would have been waiting for the chrysanthemum crabs with a vinegar cup in her hands. However, she was pregnant at this time, so naturally she was banned again. ~. Cui's mother said with a straight face, "Crabs
It’s cold in nature, madam, don’t eat it.”
Minglan is not without sadness: "... In this world, everything that tastes delicious is either cold or sweet and hot, or dry or wet. Even if your mother can eat with confidence, it is like chewing wax. It can be seen that God's creation,
They are really here to make things difficult for others.”
Cui's mother patiently coaxed her: "You are such a greedy talker. Carefully tell the brother in your belly to listen. I will blame you later!" Unlike Gu Tingye, she believed from the beginning that Minglan was still pregnant with a boy.
It's so easy! - Thinking of the plump yellow crab paste with full of fragrance, Minglan just felt like there was a cat scratching her belly. When she wanted to get pregnant, the old white flower was watching her with eager eyes, and she didn't dare to eat anything at will.
, I was frightened day and night, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
Seeing that she was in pain, Gu Tingye simply ordered that the whole government was not allowed to eat crabs. He also told his wife to smell a little bit of crabs, which aroused her greed, and carefully asked the Marquis to tie up her hands and feet and steam them in a cage.
Minglan laughed and fell down on the kang. Seeing her mother rolling around in amusement, Tuan Geer opened her chubby little hands and twisted to pounce. Halfway through, she asked her father to lift her whole body to his back, and then let go.
The group had no choice but to practice climbing.
Gu Tingye only said half a sentence, "How about we eat some crab meat", when Cui's mother, who had just brought in the stew pot, heard it. He coughed lightly and said, "Of course, it's best not to eat it."
Seeing the man's behavior, Minglan was overjoyed and felt cute in her heart. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him hard twice when no one was around. Chubby Tuan followed suit and jumped into his father's arms, smearing half of his father's face with puff puff.
saliva.
Gu Tingye wiped his face and cursed: "Silly boy, you can't even do this!"
He pulled her over and kissed her little face twice as a demonstration. Unfortunately, the fat man didn't understand the spirit, so he only used a little more stupid strength to use his little white teeth to dig out a few bumpy teeth marks on his father's face.
Come, then clap your hands and look at your parents with a smile.
Minglan couldn't bear it anymore and lay on the edge of the kang, laughing muffledly.
Gu Tingye was so angry and funny, he patted his butt a few times and glared: "You only know how to laugh! You are a mother too, don't you know how to say a few words?" Minglan laughed: "Why is this kid so stupid?" Gu Tingye said again.
Unhappy: "Can't you say something nice?" - This article was first published by Jinjiang Literature City
Minglan immediately said: "Your son has good teeth." Such a rough and thick-skinned old man can chew it.
…
The coolness is getting colder. Although we can't eat crabs, Minglan's days are gradually becoming more comfortable. The crisp autumn air is a good day for tourists to travel. In early October, Tingye and his wife first sent away their fifth uncle——
The fifth old man was in high spirits, composed a poem like the ancients, and poured half a jar of practice wine into the soil. He was determined to do something in the academy, but the fifth old lady was depressed and her eyes were red and swollen.
Afterwards, Mrs. Xuan told Minglan that her youngest daughter’s wet nurse heard from her third son’s sister-in-law, who was working in the fifth house, that the fifth old lady originally refused to leave Beijing until death, but the fifth uncle flatly refused. The fifth old lady said sarcastically
He didn't want to live anymore, which made his fifth uncle furious - "Even if you are carrying the coffin, you still have to go on the road!"
After Gu Tingyang's death, Tingdi and his wife were seriously dissatisfied with the fifth old lady, and Minglan suspected that they had secretly spread the news.
The farewell scene was full of joy, especially the rosy face of the fourth old lady, who was very kind and caring to Minglan, and even invited her to have tea at home. Minglan couldn't refuse, and wanted to go home, so she followed her.
In front of Ming Lan, the fourth old lady asked Aunt Liu to pour tea and water, and served her with a fan and sweat towel. It was really embarrassing. Mrs. Xuan smiled bitterly beside her, but she had no intention of stopping her.
Aunt Liu is no longer the lady she once was, and now she is showing her age. She just complained a few words when the fourth old lady said: "If Aunt Liu doesn't want to serve here, why not go to the northwest? Ting Bing is alone, so It’s good to have someone to take care of you.”
Aunt Liu thought that no matter how difficult it was to take care of her mistress, it would be better than the bitter cold in the northwest. She didn't want to go there and suffer for her precious life, so she didn't dare to talk back to the fourth old lady, but she kept begging Minglan to ask Gu Tingye to take more care of her.
Minglan twitched her lips, wanting to invite her to a three-day trip to Yu Yan's red grave - don't cuckold anyone casually.
In the middle of the year, all the officials were appointed and dismissed based on their performance. As expected, Uncle Wang was appointed to Jiangnan, and the whole family was the first to leave Beijing. Sheng Hong and Chang Bai's father went to see each other off. Hua Lan originally wanted to drag Ru Lan along with him to see him off, but the result was unprecedented. Ru Lan was persuaded instead.
"What did my mother say? To save my aunt, my grandmother would rather take her to court! Huh, it's obvious that my aunt is vicious. She harmed the old lady and framed my mother, but my grandmother still wants to go away? It's etiquette for my father and brother to go. We are going out. , Where are we going?! Grandma doesn’t distinguish between right and wrong, and doesn’t care about the honor of the Sheng family. We still go to Grandma Antai with a smile on our face. It’s so unfair, mother! It really makes people think that we have no temper at all!”
Hua Lan was also angry when she thought that her natal family, which was once a good family, was now separated. Although her grandmother was an elder, Wang was her biological mother and she had already begun serving her sentence. Therefore, in the end, neither of the two sisters went. Very literary
However, the strangest thing about this day was that Mo Lan was gone.
The old lady suddenly fell ill, and Wang went back to her hometown to pray for her mother-in-law's birthday. She succeeded in deceiving outsiders. Mo Lan knew Wang's nature well and immediately realized that this was extremely abnormal. In addition, he heard that Changbai would take the old lady to his post. , she immediately knew that something had happened to her parents’ family.
There was no explanation anywhere, Chang Feng didn't know anything about it (he really didn't know the inside story), Liu was even more cunning, and the sisters didn't even need to ask.
Anxious, Mo Lan scratched her head and had no choice but to ask people around her to use money to lure the servants of the Sheng Mansion to talk about the situation. After nearly a month of back and forth, they only found out that on the day the old lady suddenly fell ill, Minglan soldiers surrounded the Sheng Mansion and arrested and tortured her. Some people (Chang Feng had heard the screams, but didn't know who they were), finally said that Wang's mother, Qian's mother, was an outsider, plotting to steal the family's property, frightening the old lady and making her sick, which angered Sheng Hong and Minglan was furious and sealed the house for questioning.
In addition, the Kang family's aunt was seriously ill recently and was sent to a village to recuperate. However, which village it was, there was no way of knowing. Most of her confidants were also sent to serve her, including the master and the slaves, so they remained silent. The breath disappeared.
To sum up all the above, Mo Lan knew that there was something fishy inside, but stopped there and couldn't find out more.
After sending off the Wang family that day, Mo Lan still didn't ask a single hair from Aunt Wang. In desperation, she had no choice but to accompany her father back to the house to talk to her. Until she accompanied her to the study, she asked insinuating questions.
"...Dad, my daughter heard from someone below that on the day her grandmother got sick, her sixth sister suddenly called the guards of the Hou Mansion to surround the house. What was going on?"
Sheng Hong sighed, and the standard answer automatically flowed out of his mouth: "There is a ghost in the house, and he actually colluded with thieves outside to steal, which scared the old lady. Because he was afraid that the thieves would eliminate the evidence and escape, they simply surrounded the house. "
Mo Lan couldn't hold back and vomited blood - this was the same answer. She bit her lip and said, "I also heard that Sixth Sister's men tortured and interrogated her at home. This..."
"Well, it hurts people and people, but I don't care about questioning the thief and making the old lady feel at ease."
Mo Lan tried several times to detect, but all failed. She said anxiously: "Dad, we just caught a thief. There is no need to send out the guards of the Hou Mansion. Our servants are enough. ~Sixth sister's actions are really... Aunt Kang..."
Sheng Hong suddenly became alert, and his cold eyes pierced through: "What do you want to ask? There was a thief at home, which frightened the old lady. Your sister and I were in a panic, and we had to find out the thief, so we acted a little bit. Inappropriate—what exactly do you want to know?”
Mo Lan winced at her father's gaze, then she mustered up her courage and said with tears: "Dad, there is obviously an inside story about this matter. Outsiders don't know about it, so how can my daughter not know about it? Now all the sisters know about it, but I don't know about it. No one in the whole family is willing to tell me, isn’t my daughter’s surname Sheng? Isn’t my daughter my father’s flesh and blood? Is it necessary to be so defensive and hide it..."
As she spoke, she burst into tears, tears streaming down her face, "My daughter knew that when she got married, she made her father unhappy, but after all, they are connected by blood. She was also worried about her grandmother and her father. Something happened at home, and my daughter was worried all day long. I don’t think about food and tea. My brothers and sisters all know it, so why can’t my daughter know it? Is my daughter so unbearable..."
Sheng Hong saw her crying so sadly and her complaints were reasonable. He couldn't help but soften his heart. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered the long words - "If more people know about this, there will be more risks. People's hearts are unpredictable, especially for housewives." There are so many people that they don't understand the overall situation and don't know the importance. Hua Lan Ru Lan has the honor of being the biological mother, and the sixth sister has done many inappropriate things in this matter. They won't say a word. But it's hard for others to tell...'
Although Chang Bai didn't mention anyone, Sheng Hong knew in his heart that apart from the core people with interests, even close relatives should not know the inside story, especially those from the Lin family; if someone gets hurt because of some petty thoughts, It will be too late to regret the reputation of the Sheng family. - This article was first published in Jinjiang Literature City
——"There is no secret in this, you are overthinking it." Sheng Hong looked coldly, "You keep saying how the sisters are, but you don't think about it. Among you sisters, you are the only one who is still alive."
Mo Lan was immersed in crying, and suddenly she was stabbed in the painful spot, her eyes widened with tears: "Dad...how did you..."
"My father has three or four daughters. Except for the youngest, they have all blossomed and now bear fruit. No matter your brother, sister-in-law, or several uncles, they are all loved by each other. You are the only one, and the family is restless every day. You have been married ever since , I haven’t had a child for several years, no matter how much my fourth uncle loves me, and no matter how indignant you are, who can say anything?!”
Mo Lan's face was filled with tears and she screamed: "Dad...!"
"Your eldest sister is virtuous and honest, your eldest brother-in-law is very respectful and loving, and the five girls are harmonious and beautiful, not to mention that Gu Hou is very obedient to the six girls. Born to one father, why don't you compare yourself with your sisters? I'll ask around every day. What kind of etiquette is there when you are short-lived and long-running?"
After all, Sheng Hong has been in the officialdom for many years. If he really meant it, he could speak like a sword and speak like a sword, making his opponents unstoppable. "My family has become such a mess, how can you still take care of your family's affairs? You don't know what to do!" "
Mo Lan didn't expect that after asking for a few words, she would be scolded so fiercely by her father. She was so shameless and ashamed that she couldn't express her shame. Her chest was so angry that it was about to burst. She covered her face and cried and ran out the door. She just took a few steps. , thinking that the servants would see him being embarrassed, he had no choice but to hold it back, wiped away his tears, and walked away with his head lowered.
Because of this incident, when Changbai was traveling three days later, she did not come to see him off.
Chang Feng giggled and said apologetically: "Sister said, this Liang Mansion... has something going on at home and can't leave..."
Mrs. Sheng looked worried, Sheng Hong clapped his legs and sighed, not even daring to look at his aunt, while Changbai remained calm.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Who in the family can't help but understand that the fourth sister is in trouble?" Hua Lan turned around and said, "The fifth sister surprised me. I thought you couldn't come today? I heard that the fifth brother-in-law is not here. Ren Yuanyuan, why haven't you guys left yet?"
Ru Lan had been waiting for this question for a long time, and immediately supported the old lady lovingly, "Who says it's not the case? We were supposed to leave a few days ago, but my husband said that the old lady is leaving today, and we, as juniors, would rather be there by then. Even if you are rushing on the road or going out a few days late, you should also send grandma off as a gift. This is filial piety."
Sheng Hong had a great face and sighed with a smile: "My uncle is right."
Old Mrs. Sheng also laughed out loud and pinched Rulan's nose: "I am a good uncle, but you are a damn girl! How dare you leave first without telling me?"
Ru Lan groaned and acted coquettishly: "Grandma is really trying to destroy other people's good intentions!"
Everyone laughed.
Before leaving, Mrs. Sheng saw Minglan standing there smiling innocently and foolishly. She was worried no matter how much she thought about it. Gu Kong held her granddaughter by the ear and hid aside, and warned: "Silly girl, grandma is leaving now. You On weekdays, you should listen more and read more, be humble and self-reflective, and don’t be so heartless as to trick others without knowing it!”
Minglan said happily: "I know, I know." Ask Aunt Kang, who doesn't know who is tricking who?
"What do you know!" the old lady was angry and tugged on her ear, "I heard that recently because you can't eat crabs, my uncle forbids everyone in the house to eat crabs? What about your widowed sister-in-law and your niece? She is so dedicated to observing the law now that she doesn't even want to eat crabs. When you go out, you can't neglect other people's food. If the outside world knows about this, it will be blamed on you two for treating your widowed sister-in-law harshly!"
Minglan covered her ears, secretly cursing Cui's mother for acting like an ear retribution god again, and said pitifully: "How can you be so unreasonable, granddaughter? I have already sent several baskets of green shell crabs, and all of them have your grandmother's red sandalwood fish." So big!”
"It's a crime, it's a crime! You're a little enemy who deserves to be slapped. You use meaty things to compare with Buddha's utensils. You're not afraid that the Buddha will kill you!"
Minglan originally wanted to say, "Thunder and Lightning are responsible for killing people. Gods and gods have their own duties, and Buddha does not care about this." However, due to the pain of having her earlobe pulled, she had to recite Buddha's name repeatedly to apologize.
Old Mrs. Sheng let go of her hand and breathed a long sigh of relief and said: "People's words are terrible, you have to be careful at all times, don't let others take advantage of you." Then she went on to give many daily instructions, and Minglan almost nodded like a woodpecker.
After everyone parted, they kept talking to themselves. After Changbai urged three times, a group of women and children got on the carriage one after another, followed by a crowd of luggage and entourage, more than ten cars. He looked at the old lady who was getting in front of the carriage. Smiling face, Minglan knows that her grandmother is happy in her heart. She has been trapped under the roof for a whole generation. Now that the sky is high and the sea is vast, she is free and unrestrained. Wouldn't she be happy?
Watching his mother leave, the Sheng mansion was suddenly half empty. Sheng Hong couldn't help but feel lonely again (last time it was the Wang family). Seeing his father sigh, Chang Feng suggested that the brothers and sisters eat together. Hua Lan immediately responded, clapping her hands and laughing. : "My aunts have to go on errands. As long as dad doesn't mind us being girls, we can have a few glasses of wine with dad!"
-This article was first published in Jinjiang Literature City
Minglan smiled and said, "That's good. Although I can't drink, I'm still willing to accompany him. The fifth brother-in-law will leave in a few days. The fifth sister will be busy packing luggage and manpower in the past few days. I don't know when we will get together for a drink next time." Why not take advantage of today?"
Ru Lan hurriedly waved her hand and said: "You can have a drink, but you can carry it back if you're drunk to death, just don't do that poetry thing!"
Sheng Hong couldn't help but smile, stroke his beard and laugh: "Okay, okay."
Seeing this, Mr. Liu smiled and went down to make arrangements.
She first asked her mother-in-law to set up a long table with a raised phoenix head in the side hall, with four small square tables on both sides. Then she took some food boxes, soup cups and rice bowls. Each table had different floral patterns. The tableware is the largest, followed by the others.
When a housekeeper saw it, she smiled and said, "Grandma is going to have a banquet and set the lily of the valley table."
Mrs. Liu smiled. She was not Chang Feng, and she only cared about being free and happy. She thought that although they were brothers and sisters, blood relatives, they had to drink wine at the banquet. , I was very happy to see that the hall was spacious and the children on both sides were neatly arranged, both grand and lively. I praised Chang Feng: "Your wife is a virtuous person. You are not allowed to be naughty and reckless."
This message was passed all the way to the accompanying daughter-in-law. Mrs. Liu listened in the room, but she just smiled and asked the maid to send the daughter-in-law who was passing the message a handful of copper coins. The wet nurse beside her was very happy: "It's not in vain that grandma has been tired for a long time." , I still haven’t had a bite to eat until now.”
Mrs. Liu tiredly sat down next to the kang: "What can I do? If my husband is as capable as my eldest brother, and everything is arranged properly, I would also like to be calm like my eldest sister-in-law, so why bother with this."
The wet nurse sighed: "My uncle is fine, but he's a bit childish and doesn't realize how difficult his family's financial situation is."
Mrs. Liu picked up the rice bowl on the kang table and moved the rice grains vaguely: "This time, it's such a big event. How powerful is my elder brother? From the old lady of the Wang family to our master and the elders, everyone can handle it. Look. From now on, my grandmother’s silver antiques, shops and farms will all belong to my eldest brother’s house for hundreds of years.”
The wet nurse held a spoon to ladle the soup and said hesitantly: "...Old lady, you can't be so partial."
"If I were her, I would also be partial." Ms. Liu said with a bitter smile, "We are not close to each other in the first place. After all, the eldest brother has raised me for a while and still has the eldest grandchild. This time he is sincere and filial, why can't he give it all. And my wife My body, my sister-in-law’s dowry, my eldest brother’s house... No matter how much my parents give me, it can’t compare.”
"Grandma, drink some soup first. This is made from the best angelica pigeons." The wet nurse handed the soup bowl to Liu's hand and couldn't help but said, "Oh, after all, she is a concubine, so she can't compare with the uncle. But, master I like my uncle more."
Mrs. Liu took a few sips and put it down, "That's all we can do. A penny can't kill a hero. I just hope that I can see that my eldest brother is rich and we can share more in the future... But there is another Dong brother." "
The wet nurse had nothing to say. After a while, she said, "I see that my uncle and grandma are all kind-hearted. I won't treat my younger brother harshly in the future."
Mrs. Liu chuckled lightly, holding chopsticks and eating in the bowl: "To be honest, none of the aunts in this family are mean and stingy... except for my direct sister-in-law!" Then he sighed, "I'm not greedy either, and I shouldn't be. Mine, I don’t care about it at all. God has mercy on me and thinks that my marriage will not be easy. I asked my husband to study hard and earn a family fortune on our own in the future."
The wet nurse also laughed: "Yes, this is the right thing to do. Didn't our master say at the beginning that most of those aristocratic families with a good reputation on the outside were dirty and complicated on the inside. Grandma went in and suffered in vain, and she didn't have to complain. The Sheng family has a clean family tradition. , the rules are simple, and if the children and grandchildren are more polite and prosperous, it will be easier for the daughter-in-law. But..."
Her face suddenly darkened, and she said in a low voice, "My uncle has no calculation in his mind, so you have to be careful. I have seen recently that Wan'er seems to have a girl. Grandma now only has one sister. We
Do you want……"
Mrs. Liu remained calm and said calmly: "I already know. There is no need for us to do anything... This time, let the restless bitch see if the fat in her belly can reach the sky!"
The wet nurse felt relieved when she saw that she had made a plan. Just as she was about to persuade her to eat more, a maid suddenly rushed to her door. She came in and knelt down, saying, "Grandma... just now the concierge came to tell me that someone was coming from Sixth Aunt Grandma's house."
, said...said that the sixth aunt sent someone to come, and quickly told the sixth aunt's grandma and the master, the fourth aunt's grandma's father-in-law, he, he...is gone..."
Rao Liu was so smart that he was confused by the crowd of aunts and uncles. After thinking for a moment, he said: "But the in-laws of Yongchang Marquis Mansion, Liang Mansion?"
The little maid was a little dumbfounded. After shaking her head for a moment, she quickly nodded.
Mrs. Liu was stunned and murmured: "Now the fourth sister really has something going on at home..."