Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 929
Zhao Jia talked to himself, but the more he talked, the more shadowy he felt.

After all, this little daughter-in-law is five years older than her son, and her appearance is only dignified. It is not unusual for the husband and wife to be less affectionate.

She raised her head and looked carefully at the two big girls waiting at the door of the house, but her face drooped.These two girls are both fourteen or five years old, just when they are blooming, but they are mediocre.

The people in her previous house were all like this, but it was just to prevent her husband from stealing food.Now that she sees such a girl in her daughter-in-law's house, she is not happy.

This is really wronging Su Xin, these two girls were chosen by Cao Fu.

Last year, the girl next to Suxin grew up and wanted to let her out, so Jinghui sent her mother-in-law and a dozen or so children to make up for this courtyard.

Just when Cao Fu came back, seeing his wife was hesitant, he chose these two for her.It is for the sake of the cleanliness of the yard. I am afraid that the color will be good, and I will have thoughts that I shouldn't have, which will make people upset.

Su Xin lowered her head, still worrying about having no children, how could she know that her mother-in-law had already convicted herself of a crime.

"You are older than Xiao Wu, you should feel sorry for him..." Zhao Jia said, seeing Su Xin's low-browed and pleasing appearance, thinking of her beating up a child without a mother, and entering the palace as a servant in her teens, she is pitiful, but she can't go on. , sighed, and said: "You are also confused. Your master is high-minded, and you don't want to accept the family, so you can come in as an outsider? The girl at home, whether it's a housekeeper or a concubine, it's all the same. Your servants will be dealt with according to you. If they are accepted from outside, their status will be different, and if they have a son, they will be even more mischievous. Why can’t you figure it out? "

When it came to the end, she seemed to hate iron for being weak, and said: "You have seen the world, don't you know this? I know you got a prescription from your sister-in-law and are recuperating your body. But this Are you annoyed by not being able to conceive for three years or two years? Picking two honest girls and adding a son and a half daughter to raise first, isn't it also at ease?"

If her mother-in-law speaks harshly, Su Xin will not feel bad; but what she said now, she really thinks of her.

"Understood, ma'am." She was both grateful and powerless, and murmured.

Seeing that she was submissive, Zhao Jia's previous unhappiness disappeared, patted her hand, and went back to his yard.Although that little girl Jiang Hui was nice, no matter how old she was, even if she really wanted to say goodbye, she would have to wait two or three years. Zhao Jia still wanted to embrace her grandson, so naturally she couldn't wait.

After sending her mother-in-law to the gate of the yard, Su Xin was a little dazed when she returned to the house.

It seemed that the peaceful days were coming to an end, she lowered her eyes, only feeling tired.

When will this life end?

After all, she is a blessed person, otherwise she would not be alone.Although the second sister-in-law is an orphan, she is cherished by her aunt and aunt. She has her own father, grandfather, and uncle, but she has been separated by the palace gate for more than ten years, and she has been alienated from the bond of flesh and blood.

Cao Fu lifted the curtain and came in, feeling that the atmosphere in the room was not right,
He stopped and saw his wife sitting beside the kang.

Although she did not shed tears, it was more painful than tears.

He frowned slightly, exited the room, reached out for a little girl, and asked, "Has the old lady been here? How long have you been there?"

The little girl nodded and said: "I've been here, I didn't stay long, I looked at the west wing room for a while, stayed in the room with my wife for a while, and then left."

Cao Fu had a clear mind, so he understood it naturally, and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

He waved his hand, sent the little girl down, and re-opened the curtain to enter the room.

At this moment, Su Xin also heard the sound of talking outside, and got up to greet her.

"My lord is back." Su Xin looked as usual, welcomed her husband in, ordered the girl to bring hot water, and waited on Cao Fu to change his clothes.

Cao Fu sighed in his heart, sat on the edge of the kang, and said, "I heard that the Northwest Army is negotiating peace, and the war is about to end. When the second brother comes back, we will live separately."

"Ah?" Su Xin was surprised when she heard the words, raised her head and looked at her husband, a little confused.

From the moment she entered the house, she knew that the family would be divided in the future, but with her mother-in-law's temper, she might not be willing to let her youngest son move out.The so-called separation of the family is only the room of the fourth uncle.

"Earlier, when the Bank of the Ministry of Internal Affairs auctioned off mortgaged properties, my eldest brother took me there. I bought two houses, both of which were three-entry. One was larger with more than 30 rooms; the other was smaller with more than 20 rooms. The fourth brother is the older brother, and the population is larger than us, so the big one will naturally be left to them. Although the small one has fewer houses, it is right next to Haizi, and it is cool in summer.” Cao Fu said without haste. , As the saying goes: "In the future, I will raise a large water tank in the courtyard, put a few goldfish in it, plant a few vines, put up a few wicker chairs, and designate it to be as leisurely as in the village."

"Why don't you plant pomegranates?" Su Xin just felt confused, and asked this question out of nowhere.

"If you like it, you can plant it too, but you don't think too much about it. Girls here depend on fate, we just have to wait. Don't talk about others, even the uncle, who is just over the age, has a second sister. I am only two this year. Ten, so what if we wait another ten years?" At this point, he paused, and said: "The matter of heirs is not just about women. On the side of Lord Zhuang, there are not a hundred wives and concubines, but eighty. It’s not that it didn’t blossom and bear fruit. Fortunately, the imperial physician is now in the West Mansion, and I’ll ask the imperial physician to show me tomorrow.”

After all, he is a man, and few are willing to admit that he cannot "sow seeds", so in the end, he was a little embarrassed, and his voice gradually dropped.

However, it was this gradually lowering voice, like a small hammer, that hit Su Xin's chest with pain.

She didn't know whether it was joy or sorrow, for a moment, her eyes were watery and she couldn't speak.

"If I'm not suitable, don't criticize me, we two are against 'a couple in need'. Look at the eldest brother and sister-in-law, those children, even if they were not born by themselves, can they be raised by themselves?" Cao Fu stood up Come on, holding his wife's shoulders, and said softly.

For his wife, he originally had a slight affection, which could not be called a deep affection.

It's just that after living together in the past few years, this wife who is round on the outside and square on the inside has aroused his distress.He didn't want to see her alone, nor did he want to wrong her.

Su Xin's tears could no longer be held back, and finally rolled down...

*
Entering November, Cao Yong is getting busier.

On the desk, the paperwork was stacked half a person high, and he had to be busy every day until dusk before he could come out of the yamen.

On the sixth day of November, it was advisable to travel. Zheng Xie took his family members out of Beijing to take up his post, accompanied by Shu Tong Yanxiang and Master Fan Sheng.

This inkstone incense was bought by Cao's mansion, and it was because of him that Cao Yong knew that Zheng Xie still had a penchant for molesting children.

When he first heard about it, Cao Yong was annoyed, but when someone called Yanxiang, seeing that he had no intention of being wronged and resentful, and was willing to continue serving Zheng Xie, he acquiesced.

Following the rules, if you give someone to Zheng Xie, the body deed will be handed over to Zheng Xie.

Cao Yong did not do that, but asked someone to take his body deed, cancel his slavery, and prepared 20 taels of silver for him.

"If you are really willing to follow Mrs. Zheng, follow him; if you are not willing, find a chance to leave after you leave Beijing." Cao Yong left him alone, and said to him: "If there is no place to go, just go." Zhuangzi outside the city is looking for an errand."

Because the Qing law prohibits officials from prostitution, it is not uncommon for officials to love men.

Officials from Fujian and Zhejiang are even more popular.

After all, Cao Yong is a man, and he still can't accept it calmly in his bones.

This inkstone incense is not a child born in the mansion, but bought from outside.He also knows how to read and write, otherwise his family will fall into poverty, and he will not be reduced to slavery.

Therefore, he felt ashamed of this child who was no more than two years older than Tianyou.

"Thank you, master!" Yanxiang took her body deed, and with a "plop", she knelt on the ground, blushing, and said: "Young one... I want to learn painting from my master..."

Seeing that his eyes were red and his face was full of determination, Cao Yong said, "But it's because of your father and grandfather?"

It turned out that Yanxiang's surname was Yan, and he was also a child from a scholarly family.My grandfather was a court painter before his death, but his reputation was not obvious because of his early death.Later, for some unknown reason, the family got involved in a lawsuit, went bankrupt, and nearly died.

"Yes, the little one wants to learn painting..." Yanxiang replied: "The villain's grandfather once told him to learn painting..."

Seeing this child so sensible, Cao Yong scolded Zheng Xie again and again in his heart, and the original fellowship disappeared.

"If you want to go, just go. When you finish your studies, you can come back when you want to go back to Beijing." Cao Yong said.

Yanxiang solemnly kowtowed three times to Cao Yong before getting up to go out.

Outside, Zuo Cheng had already been waiting.

Seeing him coming out, Zuo Cheng stepped forward and said with a bitter face: "This parting can't compare with you. I can't compare with you at all, and I will flatter you even more in the future."

"How could it be? Young Master Cheng is talented, and the master praised it. It wasn't that Young Master Cheng couldn't compare with the younger ones. It was that the younger ones practiced painting a few years earlier than Young Master Cheng. When I was four years old, I took up a brush." ​​Yanxiang said softly. .

Zuo Cheng muttered, still a little reluctant, and handed over a box of Hubi in his hand: "You have to go with Mr., this is the rite of passage I will send you."

Yanxiang worked in the study for two years, followed Zheng Xie in and out of Liulichang, she knew that this box of lake pens was expensive, she hurriedly said: "Master Cheng should keep it for use, how can a small one deserve such a good pen?"

But Zuo Cheng didn't listen to him, and stuffed it directly into his hand, saying, "Just take it if I give it to you, what's the fuss? Use it well, I bought it on purpose." Having said that, he handed over another purse, and said : "Here is some change, you take it with you, and buy some delicious food on the way. Learn to paint hard, you work so hard, you will become a painter."

Yan Xiang didn't want it at first, but seeing Zuo Cheng's firm appearance, she had no choice but to accept it, and said, "Where is the young master?"

"Brother and big fellow went to see off at the Master's Courtyard, let's go too." While talking, the two went to the side courtyard together.

Standing in the corridor, Cao Yong watched the two go away, feeling a lot of irony in his heart.

What he is most satisfied with is that these children in his family understand the rules of the world, are not snobbish, and have a kind heart...

The carriages were hired from the car dealership. There were three cars in total, two for people and one for luggage.

Cao Yong sealed one or two hundred silver coins and sent Zheng Xie to be Cheng Yi.Mr. Zheng Xie accepted all the favors, so he was not arrogant, thank you for accepting it.

His wife Xu had a daughter at the beginning of the year, and now she is not yet one year old, so she will not go with her husband, and will wait until next year when it gets warmer, and then go to join him...

(End of this chapter)