Yu Tang Golden Boudoir

Chapter 92 Death Day
Li Tian listened intently to Cao Si's words. Hearing that his aunt would be able to return to the capital every year or so, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The fourth daughter-in-law smiled and said: "Fourth brother Cao has worked hard this trip, you should rest for a few days and make some delicious supplements for fourth brother Cao."

Fourth Cao's daughter-in-law agreed with a smile, and the two quit together. Yingluo recited a sentence of Buddha and said with a smile: "It will be good if my aunt comes back. Finally, there is someone who is really good for Fifth Lady and can talk again."

"En." Li Tian answered absent-mindedly. After thinking for a while, he turned to the east chamber, lifted the curtain and went in, looked at Yue Niang who was sitting on the couch and meditating, and said, "I'm sorry to bother you to go, and tell shopkeeper Cheng about two things." The first thing is to ask him to pay attention to the whereabouts of the fourth prince, and the second is to go to the Ministry of Officials to inquire carefully about uncle Jiang Qingyuan's performance appraisal this year and next year's dispatch."

"Okay!" Yue Niang readily agreed, and jumped to the bed, but this time she didn't jump out of the window, and went around to the door in an orderly manner.

Li Xiaozu was specially called by the fourth prince to say a few words, and when he came out of the yamen in the evening, he was blocked by Ding Erye. He insisted on having a few drinks with him, but Li Xiaozu refused, and went to the meeting with Ding Erye Xianlou drank, and it was lively until around Wuzheng, before returning to Yongguo's mansion staggering and drunk.

Grandma Zhou took Li Xiaozu in and was busy getting people ready to wake up and sprinkle the soup, and then waited for Li Xiaozu to take a bath and wash up. Although Li Xiaozu drank a lot of wine, he was so excited that he didn't feel sleepy at all. He dragged Grandma Zhou to talk about the fourth prince incoherently How to talk to him, how enthusiastic Ding Erye was, Grandma Zhou was confused, poured him half a bowl of hangover soup, and asked him a little bit for a long time before she figured out what was going on. How did that lofty fourth master know Li Xiaozu?Why are you so special to ask him to ask a few words that even Li Xiaozu thinks are gossip?
"Don't just smirk, how can there be so many good things for no reason? What's going on?" Grandma Zhou pushed Li Xiaozu, who was only smirking and couldn't keep his mouth shut, and said anxiously. Li Xiaozu shook his head vigorously, his eyes were hazy, I couldn't hear Grandma Zhou's words at all. Seeing Grandma Zhou giggle a few times, she fell on the bed and fell asleep in the blink of an eye.

Grandma Zhou waited for him to sleep well, sat there and thought for a while, then sent someone to call Nanny Xiao in, said what Li Xiaozu had said, looked at Nanny Xiao worriedly and said: "Da Lang is a man with no eyesight or heart, I I just can't figure it out, how could fourth master know Dalang? How can it be such a good thing to ask him to talk to him so deliberately?"

"Could it be Nanning County Prince's Mansion?" Madam Xiao hesitated, and Grandma Zhou frowned: "How can our house have such friendship with Nanning County Prince's Mansion? We don't usually communicate with each other."

"Apart from Nanning County Prince's Mansion, where else is there? It's just their house that frequents fourth master, I think." Xiao Nanny pointed mysteriously in the direction of Qingtong Courtyard: "Nanning County King must be looking at that For the sake of my aunt's face, the eldest grandma thinks about it, since she came back, the little lady of the Nanning County Prince's Mansion will not talk about it, and there is very little one trip a day. They are relatives, and besides, we are now married to Xu Xueshi’s family, I see, our house will really get better in the future.”

"En." Grandma Zhou nodded slowly, then nodded again, rolled her eyes and considered for a while, then looked at Nanny Xiao and said, "You don't need to tell Madam about this beforehand, I will tell Dalang tomorrow, Madam Mentioning the Prince's Mansion of Nanning County makes me angry, Da Lang is a filial man, don't worry about anything happening again." Grandma Zhou pouted her lips and said: "She is like that, she is virtuous, but she is actually a fool. If the second room and the third room know about this, we don’t know what will happen, this money, we’ll be bored!”

"Grandma is very right, and I mean the same thing." Mother Xiao echoed with a busy smile.

After the matter of Qianqing Lake, Li Tian guarded the Qingtong Courtyard, anyway, as long as the Fourth Prince was in the capital, she would not go out.

It soon entered September, and the seventh day of the lunar month was the anniversary of the death of Mr. and Mrs. Yong, because it was not a full day. Besides, money was really tight, and she was busy preparing for Li Yunshang's dowry and the second lady's marriage. Madam Yang didn't care about it. Prepare a lot of money, and when it's the right day, just prepare three animals for wine and water, and the family will get together to kowtow a few times.

In the early morning of the fifth day of the new year, Madam Xiong went to the main courtyard to meet Mrs. Yang, and reported respectfully that the fifth lady had dreamed about her grandparents almost every night these few nights. Praying for prayers.Mrs. Yang frowned in disgust. After Zhou Chaoshun's incident, she could spark countless sparks in her eyes when she heard the word "five", but she couldn't say "no" to this matter. The nanny waited for a while before she spoke in a very cold voice: "This is also her filial piety. The Qingtong courtyard is full of female relatives, and like last time, the courtyard is full of monks and priests. How is it proper? Everyone has everyone's rules. If you want to do something, do it in the front yard."

Mammy Xiong didn't say a word, so she respectfully agreed, and she quit. That afternoon, she called people from the Fourth Division and Six Bureaus from the brokerage firm, and set up a shed in the front yard to prepare for ritual and sacrificial rituals. Everywhere is bright and everything is in order, Mrs. Yang got the report, her face is so dark that water drips out, she is so angry that her chest is tight and she can't breathe, her servants don't need her at all, and she is looking for someone from an outside brokerage firm, this is for herself To show that she has money?

The Second Mrs. Xu and the Third Mrs. Liu found an excuse, and came over to read it carefully one after the other. The Second Mrs. Xu's concubine daughter and concubine daughter both took advantage of it, and they were in a good mood. The women gossiped and laughed at Mrs. Yang's stinginess for a long time, even refusing to pay for ancestor worship, so Shi Shiran went back.

In the evening, Grandma Zhou came over to look at it under the pretense of inspection. Nanny Xiao looked around carefully, and murmured to Grandma Zhou: "They are all good things. They look like they cost a lot of money. It is said that Puji Temple, Fayun Temple, Fayun Nunnery, and Qingfeng Temple have all invited people. Starting from tomorrow morning, they will do it for seven days. The sister has money. If the money is enough, things will be done in a decent way. .”

"Well, it's alright, why do you think she suddenly thought of doing this ceremony?" Grandma Zhou looked around and asked, and Mother Xiao smiled disapprovingly: "Grandma really thinks a lot, Chu Qi is the old Duke The anniversary of the death of the Lord and the Duke’s wife, just to put it mildly, in this mansion, only the Fifth Lady is the only one who is directly related to the old Duke’s wife, so it’s no wonder that she is thinking about it.”

"That's right." Grandma Zhou said in relief: "Madam can't be entirely blamed for this. She paid out 5000 taels of cash out of thin air. This 5000 taels..." Grandma Zhou thought of the source of the 5000 taels of silver, and took a deep breath: " It was originally gouged out from Da Lang's body to subsidize her precious girl, but who knows it was counted by others. Now the dowry of the third lady is so poor that it is not as good as that of the eldest lady back then. It’s good to tie up your neck and not eat or drink, and a penny is bigger than the moon in the sky!” Grandma Zhou became more and more angry, and she spat softly: “She also said that the old lady took Guo Gong The mansion has been evacuated, so what is the difference between her and the old lady? Let’s see, when the third lady gets married, the Duke’s mansion will be emptied! You want me to make up for it with money, bah! Think about it!"

"Grandma!" Nanny Xiao glanced at the dimly lit second door, and called out reproachfully. Grandma Zhou let out a heavy breath, looked too lazy, and went back to the inner courtyard with Nanny Xiao.

The next day, after a day of ritual ceremonies, Li Zhongzhi came back from the yamen in the evening, and went to the Yongguo mansion first, without anyone sending a message to go in. He only put incense on the sticks, asked the time for the next day's sacrifice, and then went back.

Early the next morning, before dawn, Li Zhongzhi and his wife brought their son and daughter-in-law, several clan elders, and several close family members who had not yet paid five clothes to Duke Yong's mansion.

Mrs. Yang was very surprised, this anniversary of death is just to offer incense sticks every year, how can anyone in the clan come here?What happened this year?But people have already entered the gate of the mansion, Madam Yang didn't care about it, she hurriedly sent someone to invite the hangover Duke Yong, Li Zhongchao, and took Grandma Zhou to the front yard, Li Xiaozu was about to go out, and was busy Sending the boy to the shop to ask for half a day off, this year's death anniversary seems a bit unusual.

Every year on this day, Li Zhongchao is in the most painful time, and it is also the time when he drinks the most. When Li Zhongchao finally rushed to the front yard with a dull and swollen face, everyone had already stood neatly and silently, just waiting for him.

Amidst the melodious chanting, Li Zhongzhi was at the head, and Li Zhongchao was the assistant, leading the crowd to perform the sacrificial ceremony. Li Zhongchao and Mrs. Yang were about to let several elderly clan elders and Li Zhongzhi sit in the main hall to drink tea. Li Tian Standing in front of everyone, with tears on his face, he looked at the patriarch Li Zhongzhi and several elders and said: "Si Weng, Liu Weng, Qi Weng, Uncle, Tian'er has something to say, please invite Weng Weng, Uncle We call the shots."

Madam Yang stared straight at Li Tian with a livid face, a strong uneasiness welled up in her heart, what is this girl going to do?Li Zhongchao's mind, which has been soaked in wine for many years, is dull and cloudy, and he stares at Li Tian in a daze; Grandma Zhou looks at Li Tian blankly, at Mrs. Yang's face as black as the bottom of a pot, and at everyone else , I don't know what Li Tian is going to do, and Li Xiaozu is even more confused.The second Mrs. Xu stared at Mrs. Yang with bright eyes, with undisguised excitement; the third Mrs. Liu looked at Li Tian vigilantly, and quietly pulled the third master Li Zhongjing, and winked at him. Take half a step back.

Li Zhongzhi seemed to have expected it a long time ago, so he helped the oldest fourth old man to sit down on the chair next to him, turned his head to look at Li Tian and said gently: "Sister Tian, ​​just say what you want."

"Auntie, what are you going to do for the birthday of grandfather and grandmother this year?" Li Tian looked at Mrs. Yang with tears in her eyes and asked. The blackness on Mrs. Yang's face became more intense, and Li Tian didn't wait for her to answer. , and continued: "This ceremony only started yesterday. The gold foil horse was driven out overnight by people from outside the day before yesterday. This shed was built by a brokerage firm in the afternoon of the day before yesterday. All the people here are from outside. They were hired by the Sixth Bureau of the Division, and it was my nanny who came forward, using the dowry silver left by my mother, aren't my grandparents the parents of my uncle and my uncle?"

Li Tian's words stopped here, and he covered his face with a handkerchief and began to cry, Madam Yang's face turned from green to white, Li Zhongzhi frowned, looked at Li Zhongchao and asked gently: "Sister Tian said, what happened?" Sacrifice is a big deal." Several old masters also looked at Li Zhongchao, and when he waited for his explanation, Li Zhongchao looked at Mrs. Yang in disbelief. Mrs. Yang was looked at by him as if she was in a thorn bush, and turned her head to stare at Li Tian fiercely. Said: "What do you want to do? Are you still finished?"

"Shut up!" Li Zhongchao suddenly yelled, and everyone was stunned. The sixth old man took a cup of tea from his wife and just lifted it to his mouth. The tea hit the ground loudly.

"What are you doing?" Li Zhongzhi scolded Li Zhongchao with a tense face, Li Zhongchao's face was gloomy, and he turned to look at Li Tian, ​​with a hint of sadness in his voice: "Say it, say it if you want. "

Li Tian's grievance and arrogance seemed to be turned into tears by Mrs. Yang's questioning and Li Zhongchao's angry shout. He covered his face with a handkerchief and burst into tears, saying: "It's still like this on the anniversary of my grandparents' death. Pity my father and mother. The head of the Li family is the eldest son of the family. Now that the uncle is the patriarch, he does not say a word or do anything. Could it be that the Li family has become so corrupt? I only ask the uncle, the Duke of Yong has no priest for more than ten years , My father is a direct descendant of the Nagato, and there is no successor, is the uncle really turning a blind eye, or pretending not to see it?"

(End of this chapter)