Lihoumen

Chapter 36: Stuffing People Into the Room
The rain continued for most of the night, but it was sunny again in the morning of the next day.

Qingqing was packing up when Wang Mama, who was at the door, came in and reported that the old lady had ordered the wives in each room to eat breakfast and go to Chunxi Hall.

Today is not a double-day. The old lady asked them to come over at this time, so there must be something going on.

Qingqing asked, "Can you tell me what the messenger is about?"

Mother Wang replied, "I asked a little, and the little maid said that the Queen Mother gave the old lady a lot of rewards yesterday, and the old lady picked out some good ones and wanted to give them to the ladies."

Shen Han made great contributions and the emperor rewarded him. The empress dowager naturally would not forget the old lady who gave birth to such an outstanding son.

Qingqing nodded and replied, "I understand." Then she urged Lingzhi who was serving beside her, "I can do my own hair. Go to the kitchen and tell them that dinner will be ready soon."

Lingzhi agreed and left. Mother Wang took this opportunity to say to Qingqing with a smile, "I really want to thank Madam. I gave my daughter-in-law the prescription you asked Sister Sun to give me last time. She started to produce milk after drinking two doses, and her milk supply is abundant. She has fed my eldest grandson and he is plump and white."

Qingqing smiled and said, "Your daughter-in-law is a first-time mother, and her milk ducts are blocked, so she can't produce milk for a while. If she still has problems with weaning in the future, she doesn't need to take medicine anymore. Just use a hot towel for hot compresses, and then use cabbage and potato slices for cold compresses. Do this alternately a few times, and it will be unblocked."

Mother Wang thanked him repeatedly before leaving.

After Qingqing finished her breakfast, she took Lingzhi out and headed towards the old lady's Chunxi Hall in the front yard.

Halfway through the journey, they happened to meet three sisters-in-law, Li, Liu and Xiao Wang.

Everyone knew that the old lady was going to distribute rewards to everyone today. Little Wang couldn't hide her thoughts. The smile on her face was so bright that it outshone the sun in the sky. When she saw Qingqing coming over, she said quickly, "Why are you dressed so simply today, sister-in-law? I heard that brother-in-law got a lot of rewards yesterday. Sister-in-law, you are rich now, why are you still so frugal?"

Without waiting for Qingqing to reply, Liu on the side rolled her eyes at Xiao Wang and snorted, "According to what you said, you should be so proud of yourself just because you got some rewards? For a family like ours, you should have some self-restraint." After scolding Xiao Wang, Liu turned to look at Qingqing and said sinisterly, "Besides, the rewards given to Third Brother were earned with blood and sweat on the battlefield, not for people to squander at will."

Mrs. Liu's name is Liu Qiuyue. She comes from a scholarly family and has always prided herself on being elegant. She usually looks down on others. In the past, she never bothered to argue with Qingqing. However, ever since Lin Ruoqing came to the Marquis' Mansion, Mrs. Liu began to target Qingqing openly and covertly.

Qingqing had no reason to spoil her. She smiled lightly and replied calmly, "My husband's reward is naturally hard-earned, but I am not a money-loving person. But my husband insisted on giving me those treasures. I am not afraid of being laughed at by my second sister-in-law. I am the worst at taking care of these things. I was thinking of asking my second sister-in-law for advice."

The second son, Shen Yu, was just an idle official, and Liu had never seen any reward from her husband. Although Qingqing said this in a tactful way, Liu couldn't help but become sensitive when she heard it.

Although Liu had never fought with her before, she always kept quiet and thought she was weak and could be bullied. But today, she didn't expect that she had such an eloquent side.

Liu was wondering how to respond, and Xiao Wang, who had just been mocked by Liu, said quickly, "If Third Sister-in-law wants to learn how to manage finances, she should ask the eldest sister-in-law. The eldest brother is as capable as the third brother, and he is rewarded from time to time. But I have never heard of the second brother getting any rewards. How can Third Sister-in-law understand this if she wants to ask the second sister-in-law?"

Qingqing was only making a subtle sarcasm just now, but now that Xiao Wang had spoken it out so blatantly, Liu, who was so proud, could no longer save her face.

She was so angry that her face turned pale. She rolled her eyes at Qingqing and Wang Zhenzhen and said bitterly, "They are just some yellow and white stuff. What's the big deal? But you little brats seem to have never seen the world. All you have in your minds is money." After that, she left the three of them and walked away angrily.

"Why are you pretending to be so noble!" Wang Zhenzhen glanced at Liu Qiuyue's back and spat secretly.

Li looked at Wang Zhenzhen helplessly and waved her hands, saying, "Forget it, forget it. It's time to change your sharp-tongued temper. Let's go. Mother is still waiting."

Wang Zhenzhen retorted: "Why doesn't the sister-in-law talk about Liu Qiuyue? What is she thinking with that cousin from the Lin family? Do you think no one knows?"

Li subconsciously glanced at Qingqing when she heard that, and then hurriedly changed the subject and said, "It's getting late, don't let mother wait anxiously, let's go quickly." Seeing that Wang Zhenzhen still didn't want to give up, Li urged her again, "Second brother's wife went there first, and mother's reward may have been chosen by her first. If you don't leave now and can't pick a good one, don't blame others later."

When Wang Zhenzhen heard this, an anxious look immediately appeared on her face. She no longer cared about anything else and immediately walked towards Chunxi Hall.

The three sisters-in-law arrived at Chunxi Hall. The maid at the door came up to them with a smile and said cordially, "The old lady has been waiting for a long time. The second lady just went in. The three ladies should go in soon."

Li nodded slightly, then turned to look at Wang Zhenzhen and Qingqing, then half-raised her head and walked into the house with her two sisters-in-law in a dignified manner.

Liu was sitting below the old lady, but she looked a little strange.

Her face was ashen, and the word "anger" was written all over her hair, like a black-eyed chicken.

Looking down the steps of the main hall, there were five or six young girls in palace costumes standing there.

Li's face also turned cold, but it was only for a moment, and she returned to normal. She brought Qingqing and Wang Zhenzhen to pay respect to the old lady in a proper manner. After sitting down, she smiled and said to the old lady at the top of the table: "I see that mother looks very good today. Mother called us here today, it must be good news again."

"Nothing can be hidden from Qingning." The old lady smiled and said, "The Queen Mother gave me some gifts yesterday, but I don't need them. You can pick some."

As she spoke, a group of maids came out holding various items and stood in front of the ladies. The old lady said, "These jewels are all the best. Each of you can pick out the ones you like."

Those pearl hairpin jewelry made of gold, jade and agate exuded a bright brilliance on the sandalwood tray, dazzling people.

Li had a gentle smile on her face and said to the old lady, "Since it is such a kind gesture from mother, I, your daughter-in-law, would like to thank you on behalf of my brothers and sisters."

Li was still here greeting the old lady politely, Wang Zhenzhen was already impatiently choosing, but Liu Qiuyue had a gloomy face the whole time.

After the daughters-in-law had chosen their jewellery, the old lady pointed to the palace maids below the stairs and said, "These maids were also given by the Queen Mother. I think they are all good people who know the rules. They are idle here. Each of you can pick one to take back and keep her by the side of the young masters to serve them."

(End of this chapter)