Author: Yao Jishan

Finally came back.

In front of the Cheng Mansion, under the tall bluestone steps, Ms. Jiang slowly raised her head and looked at the black lacquer plaque hanging on the lintel in front of her.

The west wind blew softly, carrying a bit of chrysanthemum fragrance from the depths of the alley. A corner of her sleeves rolled up with the wind, and she gently caressed her fingers. The soft and woven fabric slid between her fingers like water, thin and cool.

She couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

After six years of arduous journey, at this moment, the home she had longed for was already in front of her, but the word "Cheng Mansion" on the plaque seemed so unfamiliar. The mottled golden light and the polished paint were shining brightly in the autumn sun.

It flickers down and is so dazzling.

She slowly lowered her eyes.

The trace of warmth and moisture floating deep in the bottom of her pupils quickly dried up in the cool breeze. When she looked up again, her beautiful face was already peaceful, with no emotion at all.

"We're home." Ms. Jiang said softly, patting her daughter's hand beside her.

"Mother... mother... mother..." Cheng Yuejiao murmured vaguely, snuggled up to Mrs. Jiang, and then raised her head to look up at the embroidered door of the Zhumen in front, with a faint look on her face.

Her childhood memories have long been blurred, and she has little memory of the Cheng family in Kyoto. In her heart, her home is not the luxurious mansion in front of her, but the small courtyard in Zhending County.

She is familiar with every plant, tree, brick and stone in the yard. She knows which corner has an ant nest, which tree has a bird's nest, and which small patch in the garden has beautiful flowers blooming.

But here, it is so big and spacious that it makes people feel panicked for no reason.

She couldn't help but cuddled up to Ms. Jiang again, her eyes as bright as paint were wide open, and there was a trace of wariness hidden in those still ignorant eyes that even she herself had not noticed.

In the Jinxiu Hall, Mrs. Feng was holding the rosary beads tightly with her fingers, and the beads were bunched up in her wrinkled palms, just like her frowning brows.

"The second wife's wife is back? Are you serious?" She looked steadily at Mrs. Cai who was delivering the message, her expression extremely focused, as if she was trying to find the answer she wanted from the other person's face.

Mrs. Cai had been serving her for half her life, so she knew what she was thinking. She didn't dare to raise her head at this time, but tried her best to suppress the shock in her heart, and whispered:

"I'm back, Lao An. I just went to have a look at the front in person, and now the threshold is being demolished outside."

"Remove the threshold?" Old Mrs. Feng's voice suddenly rose, and a gleam flashed in her eyes: "Why, her mother came back in a big car?"

Granny Cai was also shocked by what she saw before. There was still surprise on her face when she spoke, and she smacked her lips and said:

"I really believe that Lao An was right. The second lady and the third girl came back in a carriage. Frightened, those two tall horses are so majestic. You can't buy them for less than twenty or thirty taels of silver. And those servants are also

He is white, fat and strong, and his clothes are brighter than those of the old slave.

Then there are the second lady and the third girl. The old slave is dazzled by the silk and satin they are wearing. The pearl hairpin on their head, gold flowers dotted on their emerald hair and face, and agate strings are really... very luxurious.

.”

She clicked her tongue again and again, making gestures as she spoke, and the envy on her face was almost beyond words.

Mrs. Jiang has been away for many years, and Mrs. Cai has almost forgotten the second lady's former style. Seeing her now, she seems to have returned to the days when Mr. Jiang was the head of the family, and for a while she didn't know what it was like.

Old Mrs. Feng listened quietly, her brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and her face looked a little unsightly.

She has never liked this second daughter-in-law.

Even though the Jiang family paid for this big house, and the Jiang family had to subsidize the cost of the mansion, she still felt that her Cheng family was a scholarly family, and no matter how rich the merchants were, they were not worthy of it. Her Cheng family.

His background is really too low.

In the early years, Mrs. Feng fell in love with Cheng Wei, who was a young lady from a wealthy squire family. That family thought the Cheng family was extremely poor, so they kept showing no favor to her, so Mrs. Feng finally calmed down.

Times were indeed a little more difficult at that time, and the Cheng family's ancestral property was almost sold out. However, the Jiang family had a chance, and the old lady put aside her family views and agreed to the marriage.

Now that she thinks about it, she was too hasty at first, and every time she thinks about it, she regrets it.

If she had known that her two sons were so good at studying and had such a bright future, she would never have let a merchant girl in. Especially after entering the capital, she realized more and more that having a daughter-in-law like Jiang was not a good thing. .

Firstly, Mrs. Jiang was too shrewd and strict in running the business, which often caused the Xifu to complain, and the family talked about the two families. Secondly, when going out to socialize, Mrs. Jiang's background would always become a talking point for others, which was very tiring. Mrs. Feng felt deeply ashamed.

To put it into perspective, the most comfortable years the old lady lived in Beijing were the years when her eldest daughter-in-law, Wang, was in charge of the family business.

At that time, Mrs. Feng secretly hoped that it would be best if Mrs. Jiang left and never came back. Because of this, when she heard that Mrs. Jiang and her daughter were missing, the old lady actually felt a little satisfied in her heart. .

The mother and daughter have been missing for almost two months. Although people are always looking for them and news comes from the Jiang family from time to time, the old lady is not stupid. She will not be fooled by the letters from the Jiang family and guessed it. Something must have happened to the mother and daughter, and they might have died outside.

Nowadays, there is no peace outside Beijing. The banditry in Hebei and Hebei has just been calmed down. It is hard to say that we have encountered each other these two times. Those bandits are desperadoes. What can't they do?

But Mrs. Feng never expected that Mrs. Jiang, who had been missing for many days, would not only come back fine, but she would not look like a first-class homeless person. Instead, she would have cars and horses, and a cloud of servants. According to Mrs. Cai's words, she would be in such a splendid state. It's so big, I'm afraid it's not much worse than those from high-ranking families.

What the hell is going on?

Is it possible that the second daughter-in-law was not lost, but came back from a trip abroad? But why didn't she send a letter to her family? Didn't she know that both her mother's family and her husband's family were looking for her? She was Are you having fun playing crazy?

As soon as she thought of this, Old Mrs. Feng's face became darker and darker, and her eyes were filled with anger.

At this moment, she was not the only one who was shocked and angry. As soon as the news came out that the second lady of the East Mansion had returned home, the whole Cheng Mansion was in an uproar, and the little Feng family of the West Mansion couldn't sit still. Among them, the eldest wife, Hua Shi, was the worst.

She went to the Sanqing Statue every day to offer incense and pray to Grandpa Tao to bless the Jiang family and her daughter who died outside.

"Have you seen it clearly? Is this person really coming back alive?" When he was living in the west of Leshan, Hua stared at his husband Cheng Si with a pair of small eyes and disbelief.

Cheng Bin was lying lazily on the couch. He didn't know whether he was tired or just woke up. Tears squeezed out of his swollen eyelids. He stretched out his hand to cover his mouth and yawned loudly, saying:
Chapter completed!