Idle courtiers

Chapter 218 Strange Husband and Wife Relationship
I don't know how long I slept, but I heard someone shouting: "Master, my aunt has come back, dinner is ready, please get up quickly!"

Zhou Nan opened his eyes full of gum, but saw a half-grown little girl in front of her, whom she didn't recognize.

A hot towel is handed over.

After washing my face, I feel better, but my eyes are still dry.

"Sister Su is back, that's great." Zhou Nan rejoiced, and went into the small hall with all her clothes on.

But I saw a lot of people inside, all standing there holding their breaths, a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old with jewels and emerald hair was sitting at the dining table with lowered eyebrows and pleasing eyes.

The woman was slender and frighteningly tall, just like a future supermodel.The skin is slightly dark, and the face is full of youthful beans, who is it not Xun Fangyu, the sixth girl?
Seeing him coming, a woman standing behind Xun Fangyu hurriedly said: "Auntie, the master is here, you should stand up and greet him."

Xun Fangyu stood up and gave a little blessing.

Zhou Nan exclaimed in surprise: "Miss Six is ​​you, why are you here?"

Xun Fangyu did not speak, and drooped his eyelids again.

The woman hurriedly said to Zhou Nan with an apologetic smile: "Master, take your seat quickly, and my aunt will also sit down. Let's serve dinner."

Immediately, dishes were brought up like flowing water. Zhou Nan was so hungry that he frowned slightly after taking a bowl of hand-rolled noodles handed over by the maid.

The woman looked a little nervous: "Master, this is the noodles that my aunt made for you, but it is not to your liking. She was the daughter of a rich family when she was in Huai'an, and she never cooked before."

Zhou Nan heard that Sixth Sister Xun made the noodles herself, but she was embarrassed to say that this thing was for feeding pigs, so she pulled a few big mouthfuls into her mouth and asked who the woman was.

The mother-in-law replied that her surname was An, and she was an old man of the Xun family.Wasn't the Xun Mansion in Huai'an separated, so she was assigned to the Sixth Girl's side and took care of her personally.

As for the other servant girls, they were also distributed to Miss Six by the Xun family.

Finally, Mrs. An said: "If you go back to the master, if you come to Beijing to be an official, you are far away from home, and you need someone to serve you. Besides, it is not an option for the husband and wife to be away for a long time. Therefore, my aunt came to Beijing Reunited with the master, it is convenient to take care of food and daily life."

Zhou Nan: "Sixth sister comes to the capital, what about the family property?"

Mrs. An hurriedly replied: "All the shops at home are leased to others, and the annual rent is fixed. The land is all leased to my aunt's brother, Xun Xiucai. When the time comes, send someone to bring the rent back. As for the house at home, leave The butler is on guard. Whenever there is something wrong in Huai'an, the butler can deal with it himself. If you can't deal with it, you can send someone to ask."

"That's good." Zhou Nan nodded, Miss Xun Liu is just a child, she can't do much if she stays in Huai'an, but it is worrying, and she can rest assured that she will take care of herself when she comes to the capital: "Miss Liu, you really want to come Is Jingcheng with me?"

The relationship between myself and Xun Fangyu is constantly being cut and messed up, and I still can't explain it clearly.

In order to occupy the family property, Mrs. Ding forced the sixth girl to Zhou Nan as a concubine.

Zhou Nan actually had no feelings for this ugly girl, but took pity on her life experience and took her in temporarily.Prepare for a while, wait until everything is settled, and then send her away.As for the engagement, don't take it seriously.It is indeed too wronged for a dignified young lady to be her own concubine.

However, after what happened that night, it would be heartless to ask her to go.

So, Xun Fangyu stayed in Zhou's house in such an embarrassing manner, but he didn't live with Yunniang and Sister Su.

Zhou Nan was also puzzled about Miss Six's attitude towards herself, and she was not willing to think about it.

Mrs. An said: "Of course my aunt is willing, and she was the one who talked about coming to Beijing this time."

From the beginning to the end, this woman was talking, and Xun Fangyu kept his head down. Zhou Nan was annoyed immediately, and gave Mrs. An a look: "I didn't ask you, so you shut up."

The roar was a bit loud, Xun Fangyu trembled, and the chopsticks fell to the table.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm not yelling at you." Zhou Nan said softly: "Sixth sister, I just want to hear from you, are you going to come this time?"

Xun Fangyu looked a little panicked, and said in a low voice, "I am willing."

Mrs. An showed joy on her face: "Of course my aunt wants to come. My aunt is worried about the master, so I can't worry about it. Aunt, the master likes light food. I bought this big Yellow River carp from the vegetable market earlier. It's so fresh. Give it to the master quickly." Please eat."

After finishing speaking, he picked up the chopsticks and stuffed them into Xun Fangyu's hands, and secretly tugged at the corner of her clothes.

Xun Fangyu mechanically picked up a chopstick of fish and put it on the plate in front of Zhou Nan.

Zhou Nan shook his head and said, "Thank you."

Xun Fangyu bowed in return, and then fell silent.

This meal was eaten with respect and embarrassment.

Zhou Nan felt uncomfortable all over, quickly finished the bowl of noodles, ran for his life and went to the study, picked up the pen and began to write the homework that was due to Wang Shizhen tomorrow.

As soon as he left, Xun Fangyu didn't move. He was still eating the food on the table with his chopsticks.

Mrs. An waved her hand, signaled the others to back down, and complained in a low voice: "Auntie, can't you just smile? I'm afraid the master won't like it if you keep such a straight face all day long. My wife has asked someone in Huai'an about it. , the current official position of the master is a pedestrian, although he is only an eighth-rank official, but he has a bright future in the future, even the magistrate will be very respectful when he sees him, and the family business will not be small in the future."

"If you are a master, three wives and four concubines will be indispensable in the future when you become prosperous. It is uncertain how many women will come into the family in the future, so we have to guard against it."

"Auntie, think about it, Yunniang is the master's friend in need, and no one can take the position of the eldest wife. As for Sister Su, that foxy girl heard that she was born in a brothel, and she knows how to serve people best, and she looks just like her. You look like a fairy. And you, who are so tall and not good-looking, why are you arguing with others?"

Xun Fangyu still didn't speak, but he started to eat quickly, and in the end he just slammed the vegetables into the small mouth of the cherry.

Mrs. An continued to chatter: "If my aunt wants to live a good life in this house, she has to dominate the master all day. Now is a good time. Yunniang is pregnant, and she will conceive in October, before the child is five or six years old. , it is impossible to come to Beijing. Sister Su has just given birth to a child, and she has to serve the mistress and take care of the two children at home, so it is impossible to come to the capital."

"Master has not taken concubines in the capital yet. This is a good opportunity. You must have a child, preferably a boy, to strengthen your aunt's position in the family."

Mrs. An was originally an old man of the Xun family. She had seen a lot of houses from rich and wealthy families. She had rich experience in struggle and belonged to a proven revolutionary cadre.In the early years, she was the companion maid of a concubine of Xun Juren, and she made great contributions to fighting for the master's favor.

Of course, the reason why she was assigned to Xun Fangyu's side when the family was separated was naturally a victim of political struggle.The aunt she worked for died of illness ten years ago, and these years have been very unsatisfactory.

After arriving at Xun Fangyu's side, he saw that the Zhou family had a wife, two concubines, and two children.Moreover, Master Zhou has a bright future.This woman smelled the long-lost gunpowder and rejuvenated her career.

She quickly gained the trust of Sixth Sister Xun, and it was her suggestion that Sixth Sister came to the capital this time.

According to Mrs. An, it doesn't make any sense for you, Auntie, to stay in Huai'an and fight with Yunniang and Sister Su.You are a tree without roots.It's not as good as leaping thousands of miles into the Great Capital and making a big strategic shift.

Xun Fangyu was originally a person who didn't advocate following the crowd, so she came to Zhou Nan in such a ignorant way under her arrangement.

Hearing Mrs. An's talk about giving birth, the scene of that night came back before her eyes, Xun Fangyu's complexion was a little pale - it was really terrible - how could it be like that?

Mrs. An comforted: "Sixth sister, we women don't have to be like this. Back then, I followed your father's aunt to Xun's house and served your father. It's a pity, I can't have children. If there is a My child... hey, maybe even more unlucky."

Xun Fangyu suddenly felt sick in his heart, and stretched out his hand to plug his ears.

Mrs. An pulled her hand away, and said solemnly: "The big and rich families are like this. Now you go back to the house to take a shower and change clothes. Even if the old woman fights to pieces, she will lead the master to your room."

Xun Fang couldn't help shaking his head.

Mrs. An was angry: "Auntie, so many people came to the capital with you, but you refused. You have to be responsible, don't let us have no end." Yes, everyone is your sixth aunt's slaves now .If you have no children and no status in the family, how will you live with so many family members in the future?
Seeing Xun Fangyu's body trembling, Mrs. An felt sympathetic and sighed: "It's okay, it's okay, don't worry."

Zhou Nan finally didn't have to write small yellow essays today, and this essay of more than a thousand words was written very smoothly.

When I wrote the end, I felt like I couldn't hold my pen.

It seems that writing is sometimes a very cool thing, he sighed in his heart.

According to the current progress, by next summer, the hurdle of classical Chinese writing should be successfully passed.The key is to read more, read more and write more. There is no shortcut.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Zhou Nan put down his pen, stretched his waist, and strolled back to the bedroom.

Suddenly, Mrs. An stopped him: "Master, please go to Auntie's room to rest."

The relationship between Zhou Nan and Xun Fangyu is awkward, but now he doesn't know how to face her.Going to her room now, everyone is relatively silent and doesn't mean much.

He said: "That's all, my master is busy with business and studies, and I'm tired, so I won't go."

"No." Mrs. An still blocked the way, her tone extremely strong.

What a bold woman, did you ever speak to your master like that? Zhou Nan turned cold and asked, "What's the reason?"

Mrs. An: "My lord, my wife has also served Mr. Xun's big family, but I understand the rules of the scholarly family. Mr. Xun once said a word before, saying that the sage has something to say, and as the head of the family Lord, it is impossible to favor only one room. Each room must be visited for a few days every month, so as to conform to the Dao of Saints. Otherwise, it is not in accordance with the etiquette system."

"Master is also a scholar, so you must understand this ideal. Cultivating one's morality, regulating the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world, the matter of regulating the family is of the utmost importance."

Zhou Nan: "Is there still such a saying? According to what you said, where does my master sleep, and I can't make the decision anymore?"

Mrs. An said seriously: "Yes."

After finishing speaking, he waved to the two maidservants beside him.

The three of them swarmed up, surrounded Zhou Nan and sent them into Xun Fangyu's yard.

"This... this is simply... ridiculous!" Zhou Nan looked up to the sky and sighed.

(End of this chapter)