Qingrong smiled and said: "My sister-in-law said that, but I feel ashamed. It's my fault. I always avoid being lazy. I will be more diligent in the future and come to my sister-in-law's place to sit there."
Su Shi hugged Ah Shun and laughed, "Then I really want it."
Qingrong said: "As long as my sister-in-law doesn't find me annoying."
"Look what you said, are you still seeing me outside like this?"
Qingrong smiled and asked Azhen to bring up two gifts, a silver bracelet for a female doll, and a fine mutton-fat jade bracelet. "These are all for my sister-in-law and my niece, just a little thought."
, I hope my sister-in-law won’t dislike it.”
Mrs. Su knew good stuff, and she smiled even more happily. She said, "Every time you come here, you are always empty-handed. You still give such valuable items this time, which makes me, my sister-in-law, feel bad."
Qingrong knew her straightforward temperament and didn't care. She smiled and said, "I don't like to dress up either. Wouldn't it be a waste if I kept it? I think my sister-in-law will go out with my mother-in-law to dinner parties on weekdays. This is a very nice gift for her."
suitable."
Su Shi laughed and said, "You think too much, it's hard for you to think about it."
"Compared to my sister-in-law, she is still far behind."
Mrs. Su smiled from ear to ear, "You are so sweet, but you are not trying to compliment me."
The two chatted and laughed, and Qingrong got to the point, mentioning that Mrs. Wei intended to invite her to a banquet at the Duke's Mansion. However, she had not been in Yongcheng for a short time and was not very social.
She knew very little about it, and felt that her family was of a lowly status, so she was worried that she might lose the face of the Xue family. This was also the first time she attended a banquet for officials and wives in Yongcheng, and the people who came were all dignitaries, so she had to
Pay attention to.
Su comforted her not to worry too much about this matter, and asked Qingrong if she knew anyone. Qingrong mentioned a few people, and Su nodded after hearing this. She had heard of all these people, and that Pei
She has met Madam several times.
Su said: "Mrs. Pei from Zuocheng's house, also called Pei Lingniang, was from the Pei family in Guanzhong. My mother-in-law also told me about her. She must be a few years older than you, about twenty-five or six years old."
Years old, although she is young, she is an extremely rare person, virtuous, intelligent, decent in everything, and a well-rounded person. Her reputation among officials and their families is excellent."
Qingrong listened attentively and couldn't help but sigh. She was so young and could be so experienced. She couldn't help but become a little curious about Mrs. Pei. Su said: "Although you don't know her, based on her character,
You won’t embarrass others for no reason, so you can rest assured.”
Su added: "Mrs. Yuan is an aunt-nephew to the saint's concubine. She is married to Gao Bin, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Yushi Liu Qingsi and others are all."
Qingrong was stunned for a moment, "Censor Liu Qingsi?"
Su Shi was confused, "You also know him?"
Qingrong smiled sheepishly, "I've heard of it too."
She cleared her mind and thought about it carefully. Liu Qingsi sued Lu Liangzhi, and Liu Qingsi was Gao Bin's favorite disciple. Since he dared to sue, it was hard to say that there was no support from Gao Bin behind it. And Mrs. Yuan was the aunt of Concubine De.
Could it be said that the queen had already secretly planned it in the harem?
"As for Mrs. Liu from the family of the Minister of Rites, I only know that she is from the Liu family in Hedong, married into a branch of the Wei family, and is a cousin of the current queen." Mrs. Su added, "As for the conduct of the last two
, I don’t know much about it.”
Qingrong smiled gratefully at Mrs. Su, "I've been very careful. Thank you, sister-in-law!"
Mrs. Su waved her hand nonchalantly, "It would be great if I could help you, there is no need to be so polite."
Qingrong smiled sheepishly. Seeing that Su's eyes were green and her face looked tired, she asked with concern: "Sister-in-law, didn't you get a good rest last night?"
Su Shi sighed and smiled helplessly, "Little Ah Shun has been crying and fussing these past few days and nights, and this adult is also struggling." She glanced at Qingrong, with a strange look on her face, and lowered her voice, "As for last night
, didn’t you hear the movement over there? Isn’t your Lide Hall the closest to Saburo’s courtyard?”
Qingrong was stunned and shook her head, "I slept deeply last night and didn't hear anything."
Su Shi also shook her head, "There were people coming and going in the yard last night. I don't know what happened. I sent someone to ask in the morning. They said that Saburo was drunk at night and broke something. The people in the yard were busy cleaning it. But.
It doesn't look like it to me..." As he spoke, he couldn't help scolding Xue Cheng, "This Sanlang is really shameless. I guess he is trying to embarrass A Miao for something."
Qingrong was also a little surprised, "Third brother...is he often like this?"
Mrs. Su muttered in a low voice, "He has done a lot of ridiculous things. He used to go out and have a good time, even if he didn't see anyone for ten and a half days, and after getting married for only half a month, he clamored for a concubine. He never asked this question.
He didn't care about A Miao's affairs in the courtyard, and his brother-in-law paid a lot of money... Well, it was just a pain for A Miao. It had been two or three years since she got married, and now she still doesn't have a son and a half.
Women...are giving others an advantage for nothing, don't you know? The concubine in Sanlang Courtyard is already more than two months pregnant.
Qingrong's heart was shocked. She didn't know that Yang's situation was so bad. No wonder she always lowered the corners of her mouth, smiled rarely, and looked submissive, for fear of upsetting others... She knew to some extent that Xue Cheng had a bad relationship with her.
, but I didn’t expect it to be so bad.
Qingrong was speechless for a long time. After a while, she said, "But I saw that my grandfather was very strict with Changxuan, and my mother-in-law didn't dote on him. I think the third brother... shouldn't be like this."
Su sighed: "Actually, among the four sons, my mother-in-law is the harshest to Changxuan."
Qingrong was puzzled, "Why is this?"
Su Shi said: "In the past, Da Lang and Er Lang were brought under strict discipline under the eyes of my mother-in-law. When San Lang was young, my grandfather went to the battlefield, and my mother was busy taking care of Da Lang and Er Lang and taking care of the house.
He neglected to discipline Sanro about trivial matters, and thus he developed a dandy temperament... He refused to change his temper despite repeated admonitions. My mother-in-law was afraid that Shiro would grow up like this in the future, and she had been very harsh with him since childhood. The punishment he received was no less severe than that of his three brothers.
My mother-in-law is doing better, but my father-in-law doesn’t have a good attitude toward him."
Qingrong also felt this on the first day of her wedding.
"It has been a few years since Changxuan was crowned, and he has even gone to the battlefield several times. It is supposed that he should have gotten married long ago, but he refused to obey his parents' orders, so he provoked my grandfather to give him a good beating..."
Qingrong was slightly shocked, "Then why didn't he agree..."
Su reminded: "This Sanlang got married before him. He and A Miao were also ordered by their parents. How can they live according to the matchmaker's words? With such a lesson learned from the past, and Shiro's bad temper, he just refused to obey."
But who would have thought that Su Shi's change of subject made the originally dignified atmosphere become ambiguous. She held Qingrong's hand and smiled meaningfully, "But who knew I would meet you again? I heard Aniang say that originally
I was also worried that Shiro would cause trouble if he refused to agree, but he actually accepted it happily. It seems that he is waiting for you, my younger brother and sister."
A slight smile appeared on Qingrong's face, and she said sheepishly: "Sister-in-law, please stop teasing me."
Su smiled and said: "Oh, look at you, you have been married for a long time, and you are still so shy?"
Qingrong smiled but said nothing. Su looked at her and didn't tease her anymore. After chatting for a while, Qingrong stopped disturbing her and left.
Su's words kept popping up in Qingrong's mind, and she couldn't help but stop when passing by Xue Cheng's yard. But she only stopped for a moment and chose to leave.
Songyue knew what she was thinking and asked in a low voice: "Madam, do you want to go in?"
Qingrong let out a weak sigh, "Go back."
She was indeed very sorry about Yang's matter, but she didn't have the position to say anything, and she didn't want to meddle in other people's affairs, even though she hesitated.
Azhen and Songyue didn't say much, they just followed Qingrong back to Lide Hall.
Near the end of the month, Yun Niang was calculating the accounts of Lide Hall for this month, and was about to go to Qing Rong to talk about the matter. When she saw Qing Rong coming back from outside, Yun Niang stepped forward and roughly explained the recent purchases.
perhaps.
Qingrong handed over the management of the accounts to Yunniang and trusted her. Yunniang was also very grateful that Qingrong trusted her. Since the lady believes in her, whether it is for the future future or to repay the lady,
She just wants to get things done.
Qingrong said to Yun Niang: "You are very agile, and you can calculate this account quickly and accurately. It seems that the old lady is really right."
Yun Niang shook her head and said with a smile: "Madam, you have given me too much praise. This is what a servant should do."
Qingrong said: "By the way, you came from the Duke's Mansion, so you are naturally aware of the affairs in the mansion. In a few days, I will go to the Duke's Mansion for a banquet, but I am not familiar with the place, so I might make a joke. You
Just go with me."
When Yun Niang saw that Qing Rong was taking her with her, she immediately laughed and said, "My maid is willing to go and serve you."
Qingrong smiled and nodded, and after she finished explaining, she asked Yun Niang to retreat. Ever since she came out of the palace, Qingrong would always remind herself that this is not Nanyuan Mountain, and it is not something she can choose to ignore.
If she wasn't careful, she might harm herself and her family. She... couldn't remain passive.
Just as she was indifferent to the banquet, but since she chose to go, she couldn't be unprepared.
Qingrong accidentally caught a glimpse of a plate of crystal jujube mud cakes placed on the table. Songyue was a good cook and the best at making these cakes. She couldn't help but remember that Yang's favorite thing to eat when she came to her place was this crystal jujube mud cake.
Already.
Forget it, Qingrong asked Songyue to go to the kitchen to make a fresh meal and send it to Yang's yard. Qingrong said: "There's no need to say anything in particular, just remember that she likes to eat, so I made it."
Just send it over."
Songyue responded repeatedly, knowing that although the lady didn't say anything, she was still thinking about her in her heart.
As Mrs. Wei said, Xue Shao was indeed promoted two days later, replacing Li Fuxing and serving as Zuo Wuhou Zhonglang General. In the previous battle with the Turks, Xue Shao accompanied his father on an expedition and returned to Yongcheng. He had already been promoted, and this time
.Now among the four brothers, his official rank is second only to that of Dalang of the Xue family.
Within a few months, Xue Shao was promoted one after another. Naturally, his family was so prosperous that many relatives and friends of the Xue family came to congratulate him.
Several sisters-in-law knew that Qingrong had no experience, so they all came over to help Qingrong entertain relatives and friends and arrange banquets. It was the first time for Qingrong to do this. Although she was still unfamiliar, she was well organized and dealt with female guests in a generous and decent manner.
, there is nothing wrong to be found. Even the Su family praised that Qingrong will be an official wife who can manage the house well in the future.
After these busy days, Mrs. Wei's invitation was sent over, and the banquet at the Duke's Mansion was scheduled for the first day of April.