When Xiao Yan and Song Tangning arrived at the Qian family, the family was in chaos.
Qian Baokun's way of disciplining his daughter was particularly unique. When Qian Qiyue was kneeling on the mat pitifully with her stomach growling with hunger, the three brothers of the Qian family knelt behind her with bruised faces and noses.
The second brother of the Qian family was kneeling with numb legs. He had just moved half an inch when Qian Baokun, who was flipping through the account books, suddenly looked at him with a stack of account books, as if he had eyes on his forehead. He said, "Do you have worms on your body? Why are you twisting your back? Straighten your back!"
Brother Qian covered his forehead and said, "Dad, I wasn't the one who lied to you!"
Just punish the little sister, why drag them into it?
Qian Baokun looked at him: "What's your last name?"
"Money."
"What did Yue call you?"
"Second brother..."
"Then you just accept it. Elders should follow the order of seniority. A sister's debt should be paid by a brother. Kneel down!"
The second brother of the Qian family: "..."
The third brother of the Qian family rolled his eyes when he saw the second brother being scolded. He had known for a long time that his father was partial and that the second brother was just asking for trouble. He turned his head and saw his newlywed wife standing outside the door with his second sister-in-law looking in their direction, and he quickly winked at her to ask her to help plead for mercy.
The little girl with a bun on her head and a childish look in her eyes had just moved when she was pushed back by the young woman next to her who looked a little older.
"Second sister-in-law?"
Weng had just married into the Qian family and was not familiar with the family. When she was held by the hand, she could not help but whispered, "Father seems very angry. Shouldn't we go in and persuade him?"
The second sister-in-law of the Qian family was surnamed Zhou, and her smile was as gentle as a magnolia: "It's impossible to persuade her. This is not the first time that our family has favored a girl."
Seeing that Weng's frown was obviously misleading, she quickly explained, "Don't let your imagination run wild. Father and his people are not only partial to A Yue, but to all the girls in the mansion, including you and me who married into the mansion."
Seeing that Weng's eyes were wide open, Zhou pulled her aside and talked about the Qian family's "house rules". In the Qian family, women are "gods". It's not that the men in the Qian family are henpecked, but Minister Qian had caused his wife to suffer in his early years, so he loves his wife and daughter very much, and as a result, he particularly dislikes men who bully and neglect female relatives.
In the Qian family, no matter whether it is a girl or a daughter-in-law, as long as she does not commit an unforgivable mistake, both the father-in-law and the mother-in-law will never punish the daughter-in-law.
When the wife and daughter make mistakes, the husband is punished.
The husband and wife are not on good terms, and the husband is punished.
The family is in turmoil and the husband is punished.
Minister Qian was particularly "fair and just". No matter what the problem was, he would definitely teach his own son a lesson first. According to him, if the husband was virtuous, everything would go smoothly. If not, there must be something wrong with the son-in-law.
The Qian family had no habit of taking concubines, and Minister Qian was particularly fond of Madam Qian. The young masters in the mansion were influenced by this and over time almost tacitly accepted this set of "house rules".
Zhou smiled and said, "Don't look at Qingyu and the others shouting loudly, but have you ever seen any resentment on their faces? Don't worry, they are just joking..."
If the father-in-law was really angry, he would do more than just kneel.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Weng could not help but look towards her newlywed husband. As expected, although the Third Son of the Qian Family was grumbling with a resentful look on his face, he looked more like a playful child. Even the eldest brother, who had just returned to Beijing and looked somewhat serious, was lenient and allowed Qian Baokun, his superior, to teach him a lesson. There was a helpless smile in his eyes, as if he had been accustomed to it.
"Have they...always been like this?"
"Always."
Zhou's answer shocked Weng. She was the legitimate daughter of the Enyuan Marquis's mansion and was highly valued by her parents. Before she got married, she was honorable and respectable both at home and outside. However, compared with her brothers and sisters in the mansion, she would never be as good as them.
She was also very aware that she was doted on by her parents, and she knew that they would protect her under certain conditions, but the premise was that it had nothing to do with her future in the family. Once there was a real choice, she would never be put before the men in the Weng family.
She was like this, and her sisters-in-law who married into the mansion were even more so. Even though her mother was not a mean person and the Weng family was considered a kind family, there were always ordinary quarrels and occasional disputes. Once something happened, it was always the sisters-in-law who were blamed, not the brothers.
Which family in Beijing doesn't care about their sons? Most of the rich and powerful are like this, but it's unheard of for the Qian family to do so.
Zhou looked at the "bustle" in the ancestral hall and said to Weng beside her: "The Qian family is different from other families. It is a blessed place for girls. You will know it after you stay here for a long time."
"Don't blame Ah Yue for what happened today. She is a good girl with a sincere nature. If you and I encounter the same thing one day, father and others will stand up for us without hesitation."
Mrs. Weng's heart skipped a beat, and she was instantly at a loss: "Second sister-in-law, I didn't..."
The second sister-in-law of the Qian family looked at her with understanding. She was also a woman and had experienced the same state of mind as Mrs. Weng when she first married into the Qian family. She naturally knew what a new bride like Mrs. Weng would think.
She did not expose Weng, but said softly, "No, no, I just said it casually. Don't let this little thing affect your relationship with my third brother."
Someone came over from outside, looked up and saw that it was Madam Qian, Zhou patted her hands and said, "Mother is here."
Mrs. Weng looked up quickly.
Mrs. Qian, wearing a lake green gown, came up and asked, "Are you still being punished?"
Zhou smiled and said, "Father is still angry."
"He saw Ah Yue being wronged and rushed to the Lu family without caring about anything. Now he blames Qing Ran and the others." Madam Qian glanced at her two daughters-in-law, stepped into the ancestral hall, and said to the inner room: "Don't kneel, stand up."
Qian Baokun frowned: "Madam, they haven't admitted their mistakes yet..."
"If they want to admit their mistakes, do you have to kneel down with them?" Madam Qian glared at him and said, "Superintendent Xiao and Princess Yiyang are here. Go and entertain them."
Qian Baokun stood up instantly: "Is Xiao Yan here?"
His tone was visibly happy, and the account book in his hand was rolled up.
After Qian Baokun returned home, he always felt that there were some omissions in his previous conversation with Xiao Yan in the palace, and he still had a lot of things about the Lu family that he wanted to ask him.
It suddenly started to rain heavily outside, and he was regretting that he could only see Xiao Yan tomorrow. He didn't expect that his new friend, who was of different ages from him, would be so considerate and actually come to see him in person despite the wind and rain.
Qian Baokun didn't bother to teach his children a lesson, and straightened his sleeves: "You are lucky today."
He hurriedly turned around and left the ancestral hall. The three Qian brothers finally breathed a sigh of relief. Qian Qiyue also stood up happily, "Tang Ning is here, I'll go too..."
"Kneel down."
Qian Qiyue froze: "Mother..."
Seeing Mrs. Qian glance at her without saying anything, Qian Qiyue, who had just glared at Qian Baokun without any fear, knelt back timidly.
Mrs. Qian then turned to the three Qian brothers and said, "You three should go back and pack your clothes first. You look like you've rolled in the mud."
"Big brother, have you arranged to report to the Ministry of Personnel? If not, go and do it sooner, so that the noble families won't have trouble with you and block your report. Second brother, you can ask someone to take a look at your wounds and bandage them if necessary, but don't let them heal too quickly, so that you don't give people a handle on you. Your father might need your help later."
Mrs. Weng, who was outside, was surprised to hear this, but the three brothers of the Qian family were already used to it.
After the three agreed, Qian Qingran, the eldest brother of the Qian family, said, "Mother, Ah Yue also knows her mistake today. Don't punish her by making her kneel for too long."
Qian Qiyue was immediately incredulous, staring and muttering: "Are you my brother?..."
Snap——
After being hit on the forehead by Madam Qian, Qian Qingran saw Qian Qiyue, who had just been threatening, holding her head and crying. Qian Qingran smiled and said, "Then mother will take care of herself first. My second and third brothers and I will leave first."
The second brother of the Qian family said with sympathy: "Mother, please don't hit me too hard."
The third son of the Qian family: "Just give him a few dozen slaps to teach him a lesson..."
"Qian Qingyao... Ouch!"
Mrs. Qian pinched Qian Qiyue's ear and said calmly, "I understand," amid her cries of pain.
Qian Qingran turned and left, and the second brother of the Qian family followed closely behind him. The third brother of the Qian family gave Qian Qiyue a gloating and particularly sympathetic look, then followed him out.
Qian Qiyue was so angry that she wanted to curse, but as soon as she glared, she was grabbed by the ears and turned around.
"It hurts, it hurts... Mom, my ear is about to fall off..." Qian Qiyue screamed in pain.
Madam Qian grabbed her and said, "You still feel pain? I think you are really brave. You are a little girl, you can't use your innocence to fool your father. Do you know how much trouble you have caused by lying to your father and brother to go to the Lu family?"
"If the Lu family hadn't been in trouble, and if His Majesty hadn't just happened to be looking to liquidate the noble families, you would have chopped off your father's head!"
Mrs. Qian became angrier and angrier as she spoke, and she twisted the man hard before letting him go.
"Didn't I tell you before not to get involved in the affairs of Song Tangning and the Lu family? It would have been fine if you had had private dealings with her, and I never stopped you, but you actually dragged your father and several brothers into this mess."
She became angrier and angrier as she spoke, and her tone became heavier: "Qian Qiyue, you're being too naughty this time!"
Qian Qiyue covered her ears and looked at the angry Madam Qian, kneeling on the futon with her head down: "I know I was wrong..."
She was angry about what Lu Zhinian had done and wanted her father to stand up for her, but after the Lu family's affairs were exposed, she was already afraid.
Qian Qiyue tugged at Madam Qian's skirt and said, "I just wanted to protect Tang Ning and teach Lu Zhinian a lesson. I didn't think it through at the time."
She said in a stammering voice: "I just thought that if I didn't say it seriously, my father wouldn't go to the Lu family to get into trouble. Then Governor Xiao might not be willing to do that for Tang Ning. She doesn't have her parents to protect her. If no one stands up for her, she will be bullied by Lu Zhinian in vain."
"You are so close to Song Tangning?" Madam Qian was puzzled: "You have only known her for a short time, right?"
Qian Qiyue whispered: "She is the little sister."
Mrs. Qian was stunned for a moment. Seeing her little daughter's red eyes, it took her a moment to realize who the little sister she was talking about was: "Are you talking about the little girl who protected you in the capital when you were fighting? Was she also the one you were looking for after returning from Lingnan?"
Qian Qiyue said "hmm".
Mrs. Qian was a little surprised. Her youngest daughter had an abnormality in her hip bone when she was born. Because one of her feet could not bear force, she walked with a limp when she was a child. At that time, Qian Baokun was still a low-ranking official, and Qian Qiyue was bullied by children in Beijing because of her abnormality. It was a little girl who saved her and took Qian Qiyue to "play crazy" in Beijing for a long time, which made her little daughter, who had always been extremely inferior, smile again.
When Qian Qiyue was sent back to her Lingnan clan for treatment, Mrs. Qian was by her side. She watched with her own eyes as her daughter's broken bones were reconnected. She cried all night long in pain, but she always wanted to go back to Beijing to find her little sister. After several years of recuperation, she was finally able to walk normally. She returned to Beijing with joy, but gradually stopped mentioning it.
Mrs. Qian just thought it was the nature of youth, or that the girl had long left the capital. After Qian Qiyue changed the subject after asking her several times, she never asked again. But she didn't expect that the little sister her little daughter was talking about was actually Song Tangning.
"But she..."
"She doesn't remember me." Qian Qiyue puffed her face angrily, "She clearly made an appointment with me, saying that after my leg healed and I returned to Beijing, she would take me horseback riding and pick persimmons from the Taifu family's tree. She also said that she would take me to her mother and her secret base, but she forgot about me!"
She deliberately approached Song Tangning several times and took the opportunity to talk to her about the past, but she always looked confused, as if she remembered nothing.
Mrs. Qian frowned. Qian Qiyue was about the same age as Song Tangning. Qian Qiyue was almost six years old when she was taken back to the old house to treat her leg. In the first year after she returned, her little sister in Beijing still sent her some things from time to time. Although they were all children's toys, and even the attached letters were mostly written in sloppy handwriting that they could not understand, those things accompanied Qian Qiyue through the first year when her broken bones were healed. It was in the second year that the letters suddenly stopped.
In other words, Qian Qiyue and Song Tangning lost contact when they were about seven years old. It is not normal for a child of that age to remember nothing.
Madam Qian was somewhat puzzled, but she did not think too deeply about it. She just thought that Song Tangning had a late memory. She looked at her daughter and said, "So the reason you fought with someone in the palace before was because of her?"
"Who told them to have dirty mouths..."
"How dare you say that!"
Madam Qian pointed a finger at her forehead and said, "I'm confused. You always get into trouble and argue with other girls, but no one ever complains to the Queen. I guess it's because Song Tangning is the daughter-in-law of the Lu family."
"I'm not stupid." Qian Qiyue covered her forehead and muttered, "They insulted the niece-in-law chosen by Queen Lu in public, coveted her fiancé, and even acted like they were in love with the Third Son of the Lu family and wanted to replace him. If they had the nerve to say it in front of others, I wouldn't be afraid of them."
Although she hit people, she did so with evidence. Those girls were unmarried and valued their reputation more than anything else. She didn't believe that those gossiping girls would be so shameless as to tell Queen Lu and the others in the palace the reason for their quarrel.
"Are you still so proud?!" Mrs. Qian glared at her unhappily.
Qian Qiyue quickly shrank her neck.
Knowing the reason why Qian Qiyue protected Song Tangning, Mrs. Qian was not so angry about what happened today. She knew her youngest daughter's temper too well, and she sighed.
"You, don't act so silly next time."
Madam Qian said earnestly, "Your father's position is not easy. There are so many people watching him. The position of the Ministry of Revenue may seem powerful, but a slight mistake can cost someone's life. It will affect more than just one or two people. Moreover, you are using your reputation to provoke your father. If even a word of what you said today gets out, how can you get married in the future?"
Qian Qiyue hung her head: "I know I was wrong."
Mrs. Qian saw that her daughter's ears were red, so she reached out and rubbed them for her: "Does it still hurt?"
Qian Qiyue shook her head: "It doesn't hurt."
She was wrong and deserved to be punished.
Seeing her kneeling upright and admitting her fault straightforwardly, Mrs. Qian felt both amused and a little soft-hearted: "Okay, since you know you are wrong, go back and copy the Ksitigarbha Sutra fifty times. It just so happens that your sister-in-law's death anniversary is coming soon, so send it to pray for blessings."
The eldest brother of the Qian family married in his early years, but his wife died of illness not long after she got married. Qian Qingran was very sad and had to go out to work, so he never remarried and kept the "wife's death" to the outside world. It has been three years this year.
Qian Qiyue was struck by lightning: "Mom, you should just hit me with the stick."
Fifty times, her hands would be broken after copying it.
Madam Qian glared at her, "Stop talking nonsense. Do you want me to copy the sutras or be put in solitary confinement? You have caused such a big disaster this time, there is no way I will not punish you."
"I..."
Qian Qiyue was about to mention confinement when she heard Madam Qian say, "I was thinking of letting you meet Song Tangning when she came, but if you want confinement, then it's six months."
"It just so happens that the weather is getting hot. You've been complaining about how hot it is in the capital. Then you can stay in the mansion to cool off. You don't have to go anywhere."
When Qian Qiyue heard that she couldn't leave the house for half a year, she smiled and said, "I'll copy the scriptures, copy the scriptures!"
Compared to not being able to leave the house, a broken hand is fine, she still has a maid anyway...
"You are not allowed to let anyone write for you." Madam Qian looked at her and said, "If you dare to let someone copy for you, you will be punished ten times for each copy!"
Qian Qiyue: "…"
The tail that had just been raised drooped down instantly.
…
When Song Tangning first came to the Qian family, she was a little nervous. She always felt that Minister Qian would not be in a good mood when he saw her. After all, it was for her that Qian Qiyue dragged the Qian family into the muddy water of the Lu family.
But who would have thought that when he saw Qian Baokun, the Minister of Revenue was not angry at all. Instead, he was very enthusiastic and spoke to Xiao Yan in a friendly manner, treating him like a long-time relative.
Xiao Yan put the food box on the table and said, "After returning home, I always felt sorry for what happened in the palace today. I asked you to block the blame from His Majesty for me. Tang Ning also felt guilty about what happened to Miss Qian. Tang Ning and I still owe you an apology."
"I originally wanted to prepare some gifts, but I thought that everyone in the court is watching you and me. If I bring valuables, it will tarnish Minister Qian's integrity, so I specially prepared some wine and snacks. I hope Minister Qian will not despise them."
Qian Baokun felt warmed when he heard Xiao Yan's considerate and thoughtful words.
Over the years, many people wanted to give him gifts, and countless people wanted to win him over by aiming for the position of Minister of Revenue. He had seen all kinds of precious things, but none of them were as thoughtful as a few plates of snacks.
He looked at the exquisite snacks and drinks in the food box and knew at a glance that Xiao Yan had specially prepared them in the mansion. He sighed in his heart that this man was too honest and could remember even the smallest things. He couldn't help but complain.
"I've told you long ago not to take the palace's affairs to heart, and don't always dwell on the kindness others have shown you. I can't stand what the Lu family has done, and what the palace has done is just to go with the flow. It's just a small matter, so why should you and Yi Yang County Master make a special trip for it?"
"It's really troublesome to have people prepare these things specially."
Song Tangning: "..."
Small matter?
She blinked in astonishment. Did she hear wrongly, or was Minister Qian too careless? How could such a big matter of the Lu family be regarded as a trivial matter in his mouth?
Besides, aren't these snacks from Xijue Tower? They just went there and brought them back...
Xiao Yan, however, had no guilt at all and praised with a serious face: "Minister Qian is righteous."
Qian Baokun laughed: "Aren't you the same?"
Originally thought to be vicious and cruel, but in fact he has a heart for his country. The more Qian Baokun looks at this friend regardless of age difference, the more he feels that they are compatible.
"Well, although you and I are in the court together, there are no outsiders here at the moment, so don't call me Shangshu or not. My name is Bohong, and I'm older than you. If you don't mind, you can call me Brother Qian or Brother Bohong."
As soon as Qian Baokun finished speaking, he saw his little daughter poking her head out of the hall and trying to come over. He smiled and waved:
"Ah Yue, come here, it's a good opportunity to meet your Uncle Xiao."
Qian Qiyue: "…"
???
Xiao? Uncle Shi? ! !
Xiao Yan: "…"
The originally calm smile froze in an instant. Seeing the shock in the eyes of the delicate girl beside him, Governor Xiao was silent for a moment and rarely lowered his head.
"I have admired Minister Qian for a long time, but I dare not call him by his name. I am very lucky to be able to call him uncle."
He is only in his twenties.
Uncle Xiao who saw a ghost!!