Chapter 33 Settling Down
Looking back, he saw Su Qing stuffing the firewood that he had not added just now into the pot, and he walked a few steps quickly and said, "I'll do it, I'll do it, without getting my hands dirty. What's your name?"
"Su Qing, mommy, just call me Qing'er."
When Bao Chengjia heard Su Qing say this, he quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, how can I let you call me mom? Be careful that Mom Liu hears it. We will be punished together. Just call me Bao Chengjia."
Su Qing finally understood that in a house like this, not everyone could call her "Mom".
"I don't know the rules. I bought it from outside. Aunt Baocheng can just call me Qing'er."
"You can bring things you bought outside back to the East Palace, which proves that you are also capable. Come on, I'll take you into the house to have a look."
Bao Chengjia wiped her hands on her apron, turned around and went into the room on the east side.
Unlike the room where Wanxiang lived, the first thing you see when you enter the room is a large round table, followed by a row of shelves. Going around the shelves is the inner room, where there is a row of beds under the window, with small gaps between them, only enough for one person to go in and out. Opposite the bed is a long table with all kinds of daily necessities piled on it, and under the table is a row of cabinets.
The conditions were not even close to those of Wanxiang's place, and because it was blocked by the main room, it was damp and the smell was not very pleasant.
Bao Chengjia rubbed his hands and smiled, "Although there are many beds in this room, there are not many people living here. During the day, they are all working in the yard. At night, except for those on night duty, everyone goes home. You can choose the two beds against the wall. The cabinet opposite can be used for your daily things. The shelf outside can also be used. We are all busy today. I will introduce them to you when they are all here."
Su Qing nodded and said with a smile, "Thank you, Auntie. I'll put my things away first and then go help you."
"No, no, I just want to boil some water. There's nothing else to do. You can take a rest first. Didn't Miss Jiao Xing just say that Miss Jiao Hong will make arrangements for you later. You can take a rest. If you want to use hot water, just go and get it."
After Su Qing had packed up, she sat on the bed. Fortunately, the bed was not damp, probably because it was often dried. It was the first time she understood what the ancients meant by traveling by boat and carriage. This was all in the capital, from the west to the east.
As she walked along, she felt that the capital city should be very large. They left after lunch, and it was getting dark now. It was fine when she entered the east part of the city, as the roads were all rammed. When she just left the west part of the city, it was almost all dirt roads, with potholes in one section. The wheels of the carriage had no shock absorbers, and the shaking made her bones ache.
Hearing what Bao Cheng's family said, Su Qing also knew that everyone was busy putting the fourth young lady's things in order. Looking at the huge carts, even the screens, it would take some time.
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Here, the upper room of Songhe Garden where Mrs. Song lived was another lively scene. At this time, Mrs. Song, wearing a lilac silk-carved auspicious cloud pattern jacket, was sitting on the Luohan bed in the west room with a black lacquer swastika pattern, smiling. Several women and young ladies wearing pearl rings and jadeite and brocade and silk sat around her, chatting and laughing. There were also seven or eight maids wearing blue jackets, busying themselves with refilling tea, serving melon seeds and snacks, or changing dishes. The room was filled with a festive and lively atmosphere.
Sitting on the first armchair on the lower right is a middle-aged man who looks to be in his early 40s, with a wisp of beard, fair complexion, and a little fat. His face is 43% similar to Song's. He is Meng Yuan, the son of Huainan Marquis, and he is years old this year.
The wife of the Crown Prince, Wang, was refilling Song's tea. She had very fair skin, smiling eyes, and wore red gold earrings. She wore a rose-red jacket, a high bun, and three golden hairpins inlaid with red coral. She looked gentle and amiable, but she didn't look very well.
"Alright, alright, we've met and asked for An's advice, let's all go back. Although we went to the west and east of the city respectively, we still went around in circles and it was quite a hassle, especially Brother Lang and Brother Yue, who followed me around a lot. When the Marquis comes back in the evening, we'll have a good meal together and have some fun."
"Grandma, there's me too. I'm also tired from the journey." Meng Qi also came up to join in the fun.
"How can you talk like that in front of grandma? You haven't grown up much after being away for a while." Meng Yuan said to Meng Qi, but he was looking at Wang with a dissatisfied look on his face. Wang didn't respond, but just looked at her daughter, angry at her for not fighting back.
Meng Qi seemed to be quite afraid of her father. She stopped talking after hearing that and stood aside with her lip bitten. Meng Xiu, the third daughter of the second house and the concubine, patted her hand gently, but was shaken away by Meng Qi, which caused Meng Juan, the eldest daughter of the third house and the Meng family, to sneer at her, which made Meng Xiu's face turn red.
"Oh, our sister Qi was just saying that to cheer up grandmother, right? You, you don't want a child and you have a sullen face as soon as you come back. Don't you want a child?" Song said this to her son.
Meng Yuan picked up the tea and took a sip without saying anything.
"Okay, okay, just listen to me. Go back and have a rest. Come over in the evening so that our family can have a good reunion dinner." Song said with a smile.
Meng Hai's wife Liu stood up and said, "In that case, I will go back first. The mess in the yard has not been sorted out yet."
When Song heard what Liu said, she went to see Meng Yuan in confusion. Meng Yuan said, "Third brother will be back in a few days."
"So soon? Didn't they say it would take some more time?" Song asked.
"I didn't plan to stay too long when I came back. I had to go back after receiving the emperor's reward. But I didn't expect that the Marquis would fall ill, and the third master was filial and insisted on seeing the Marquis get better before he left. That's why it's been delayed until now. Now that the Marquis is well and his wife is back, the third master needs to hand over his duties as soon as possible."
Wang and Meng Hao's wife Liu heard Liu's words, which seemed to be embarrassed but were actually showing off. They could only hate her in their hearts, but they dared not show it. Who asked this illegitimate son to be the most promising one in the marquis's mansion?
Although Huainan Marquisate was one of the four marquisates in Beijing, everyone knew that it had long been on the decline. The deceased old marquis had done something wrong when he was young, which angered the emperor. If it weren't for the old Duke Zhong holding the iron ticket and kneeling in the hall to plead for mercy, I'm afraid he would have been downgraded to a baron's or even a baron's mansion.
Although the title of Marquis' Mansion was retained, it was marginalized after all, and its status in the capital is now worse than those of the Earl's Mansions.
The old Duke Zhongguo mentioned above is a cousin of the old Marquis Huainan who made the mistake. By Meng Qi's generation, they are almost five generations apart. Because they lost the iron ticket to protect their family when saving the old Marquis, the Duke Zhongguo Mansion now dislikes the Marquis Huainan Mansion. They don't interact much on weekdays, but they all have the same surname Meng.
The Huainan Marquisate was stuck in an awkward position in the capital, and Meng Changfeng saw that his two sons were not capable of rising or falling, so he thought of choosing one from his grandsons. However, they were all too young and could not be helped.
It was not until the only illegitimate son Meng Hai, who had been away for so many years, suddenly sent back news that he was serving under the King of Zhenbei and was highly appreciated. The King of Zhenbei even acted as a matchmaker and married his brother-in-law's illegitimate daughter to Meng Hai.
When the news came back, Meng Changfeng was really surprised. He paid almost no attention to Meng Hai, the illegitimate son, and only gave a few words of advice when Song went too far. He originally wanted Meng Hai to take care of the family affairs, work hard to earn money for the two legitimate sons, and then marry a wife who was similar. But he didn't expect that because of that incident, Meng Hai left home at a young age, and the next news was that he was going to get married.
Since then, Meng Hai's development has completely exceeded Meng Changfeng's expectations. With his bravery and decisiveness, he has been promoted to a higher position and made more and more military achievements. Until this year, he was personally appointed as the General of Loyalty and Martial Arts by the Emperor, a rank of the fourth rank. It is not easy for a military officer to reach the rank of the fourth rank, especially one who has won the favor of the King of Zhenbei.
This time Liu came back with Meng Hai, which was different from the previous years. In fact, Liu had only returned to the capital a few times since she married into the Meng family. Song was constrained by the power of the King of Zhenbei, and she really didn't like this illegitimate daughter-in-law hanging around her. So for so many years, she let her stay with Meng Hai in the northwest, and she didn't ask about her life or the birth of her children. When she came back occasionally, she would put on a high posture as a legitimate mother-in-law. In her eyes, no matter how successful she was, she was still a illegitimate son, a poor little thing who knelt and kowtowed in front of her.
But now it was different. Thinking of what Meng Changfeng had said to her when she just received the news, Song Shi felt so angry that her teeth itched. But she had to do what the Marquis said. There was no other way. Now the reputation of the Huainan Marquisate was supported by this bastard.