Ten days later, Yuan Dongliang came on time to pick up the old lady and Ning Nianzhi, because there were women and children, the driving was a little slow, and it was better than a snail on the ground. Yuan Dongliang was sunbathing outside for a while, and the old lady was a little distressed: "Come in and sit, don't get sunburned." Men are not afraid of being dark, but sunburn is not good, and this kind of sunburn is the easiest to leave scars. ”

Ning Nianzhi also nodded and said, "Come in and sit, we can also talk and chat, what has the garden looked like?" ”

Yuan Dongliang turned over and dismounted, and said while getting into the carriage: "I made it according to your drawings, but some corners, because it is not easy to build, the masters have changed a little, what it looks like, you can see for yourself when you go back." ”

The old lady also nodded: "Keep a little surprise, let's look at it ourselves." ”

As he spoke, he was a little dissatisfied: "Is your grandfather still worried about them in the second room?" Why did you come here alone yesterday? I knew that he was looking forward to me, an old woman, not going back, and living in Zhuangzi forever. ”

Yuan Dongliang hurriedly said: "You have wronged your grandfather, grandfather was talking about taking you back a few days ago, but my grandfather and I can only come out alone, and the rest of us have to be busy with official business, I miss my grandmother too much, so when I was fighting with my grandfather, I didn't pay attention to it, and I won my grandfather, and I was willing to gamble and lose, and my grandfather couldn't come even if he wanted to." ”

As he spoke, he threw his fist at the old lady: "Don't be angry, grandmother, I miss my grandmother more than my grandfather." ”

The old lady couldn't cry or laugh, and reached out and nodded Yuan Dongliang: "Do you really think I don't know?" Where are you thinking about me, you are obviously thinking about this thought, this is by the way to pick me up, isn't it? I'm too self-aware. ”

Yuan Dongliang begged for mercy: "I knew that my grandmother was sharp-eyed, but my grandmother couldn't ignore my thoughts, I really wanted to come to see my grandmother earlier and say goodbye to my grandmother." Besides, I am also considerate of my grandfather, after all, my grandfather is old, so running around day and night like this must have been no problem before, but now, I am afraid that I will not be able to stand it. ”

This is true, the old lady sighed, the old man's body is indeed not as good as before.

As she spoke, the old lady was a little tired, and the carriage was large enough, so she simply lay down and rested. Ning Nianzhi stretched out his hand and took out the chessboard under the coffee table, put the chess pieces on the table, and fought quietly with Yuan Dongliang.

After three sets, Ning Nianzhi couldn't help but lower his voice and sighed: "People say that pregnancy will become stupid, I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems that it has really become stupid, it's all three sets, and you secretly let you win one game." ”

Yuan Dongliang stretched out his hand and scratched his cheek: "Actually, I haven't become stupid, you see, even I can see that I let you take one or two steps......"

Ning Nianzhi glared at him: "Then you mean, my level has dropped now?" ”

Yuan Dongliang weighed in his heart which of the decline in level or the decline in IQ made Ning Nianzhi dislike it more, and then shook his head decisively: "Of course not, your level of chess has always been high, and it is on par with me, and now it must be because you are pregnant with my child, and that child can't play chess now, which has dragged you down." ”

Ning Nianzhi curled the corners of his mouth, and actually believed this reason.

Yuan Dongliang wiped a cold sweat that didn't exist, others were stupid for three years, but his daughter-in-law was definitely not, and it was getting harder and harder to fool.

The two regrouped, set up a chessboard and continued to fight. This time, be careful, be careful, even let the daughter-in-law and her daughter-in-law do something so that she can't see it. It's much harder than winning, it's like you have to scratch out two or three handfuls of hair.

"Something to eat first?" Seeing that it was almost noon, Yuan Dongliang lowered his voice and asked, and ordered the tea stall at the city gate: "You can still ask for some hot water to drink when you eat here, I will ask you to bring the food over and ask the store to heat it up?" ”

Ning Nianzhi nodded, the time he went to Zhuangzi was the same. I went to the tea stall at the gate of the city to buy hot water, and the meals were all brought by myself, although the weather was hot at this time, some meals were not easy to spoil, and it didn't matter if it was cold at noon.

However, the old lady and Yuan Dongliang were always worried about Ning Nianzhi's pregnancy, for fear that she would have diarrhea if she ate cold, so they invited the store to heat it up again.

Ning Nianzhi called the old lady softly, rubbed her face with a handkerchief, and sat for a while to wake up. Mama Tang quickly brought the food, and Yuan Dongliang was busy serving the old lady and Ning Nianzhi the dishes, and asked them to send hot water, and then set off again.

It was dark and they arrived home. Seeing a person standing under the lantern at the door from a distance, Yuan Dongliang raised his eyebrows, helped the old lady's arm and said: "Grandmother, you see, grandfather must be very worried about you in his heart, I don't know how long I have been waiting here, this big night, don't catch a cold." ”

The old lady pursed her lips and smiled: "It is estimated that he has just come out, so with his temperament, he will not wait outside in vain." ”

As soon as the words fell, the figure at the door strode over, and without waiting for the carriage to stop, he lifted the curtain and looked, facing the old lady's gaze, and saw the old lady sitting in the carriage □□ well, and realized that his behavior just now was too anxious, his face could not hold it, and he was a little uncomfortable, and he coughed lightly and lowered the curtain. Turned his head and commanded Yuan Dongliang: "Hurry up, it's so late, your daughter-in-law still has a body, and she will definitely be uncomfortable if you sit in a carriage for a day like this." ”

After a pause, he added, "Your grandmother is also old, and she can't even use dinner." ”

The corners of Yuan Dongliang's mouth twitched, and he saluted the old man: "Grandfather, it's getting late today, you see, I won't go over to talk back with Nianzhi first, I'll take Nianzhi back first?" ”

The old man couldn't ask for it, and nodded quickly: "Well, you take care of your daughter-in-law, your grandmother doesn't have to worry here, I will take care of it." ”

followed the carriage into the second courtyard, saw that Yuan Dongliang helped Ning Nianzhi to leave, and turned his head to look at the old lady: "Are you tired?" Do you want me to have someone carry a sedan chair over? Although before the old lady went out, she also explained that she didn't hide out because of the separation of the family, but in the past month, the house has been too clean, and the old man can't help but think about it when he stays alone, the more he thinks about it, the more he feels that he can't compare with Yuan Dongliang, and I don't know who that kid is like, he is born to please women, and takes care of the girl of the Ning family properly, and it has been more than half a year since he entered the door, and the couple didn't even blush once.

In contrast, when I think of myself and the old lady, the more I feel that I have treated the old lady badly, and the more I have the psychology of making up for it. I was worried that the old lady would not be satisfied with this separation, and under the apprehension, her words and deeds were a little different from the past.

The old lady was surprised at first, and then she couldn't help but stiffen her face, what did she do to herself?

"Tired?" The old man noticed the old lady's face, and was a little confused, thinking that he had just said something wrong, so he looked at the old lady with a blank eye and raised his hand: "Otherwise, I'll carry you back?" ”

In a word, the two of them remembered the things of their youth at the same time, the south of Yuncheng is mountainous, not long after the two of them got married, they went to Zhuangzi to escape the summer and walked to the mountains, if the old lady was tired and didn't want to go, she would let the old man carry it.

Until the old man had an aunt, the two of them got along a little politely.

"No, whoever you like to carry will go." The old lady slapped away the old man's hand, raised her head and walked forward, how old are you still wanting to carry people on your back, really think that she is still young and has infinite strength?

"In my life, except for you, I have never carried anyone else." The old man hurriedly raised his hand and swore an oath, paused, and wanted to add, but he was afraid of mentioning the old lady's sadness, so he didn't dare to say it, but the old lady didn't care, no matter how big the sadness was, with new expectations, it would slowly fade. He glanced at the old man and continued to walk forward.

"If you are not satisfied with the separation of the family, I will buy a few more properties for Dongliang when I go back, I am still young and can still do it." The old man said with a smile, and the old lady glared at him: "How can I be that shallow-eyed?" If there is less sharing, if the three rooms of them completely tear their faces with Dongliang, it will be a little difficult for Dongliang to completely take over the original family in the future, it is better to be lukewarm, no more, no less, just like this. ”

"Yes, yes, madam, what you said makes sense, it's the little one who despises you, and the little one has no eyes." The old man was busy making amends, and he was going to make amends, and the funny old lady finally couldn't help laughing, the old man was relieved, and sighed and apologized: "I have been thinking too much about this time, I don't think about it when I was young, I just think about myself as a big man, and I have to have what others have, and I can't stand being said to be a rake ear and afraid of guilt, and now I know that I can't live with you, I want to save face, and I can't open my mouth, so I can't say the words of apology." ”

Entered the room, ordered someone to set up dinner, while the old lady was eating, the old man stood up straight, bowed seriously: "I'm sorry, I used to be frivolous, we have been husband and wife all my life, I have done too many wrong things, I'm afraid that if I say I'm sorry now, you don't want to forgive me, it's just that we don't have much time left, so you can give me a chance to make amends, okay?" ”

This apology came too suddenly, the old lady was so frightened that she forgot to chew the food in her mouth, and the old man looked at her seriously: "If you don't forgive, I won't let you live alone in my life, eat and walk during the day, and pinch your legs at night, I will accompany you, you are not allowed to refuse." ”

The old lady glared at him: "Since I can't refuse, why do you ask?" ”

"I've got to let you know what I want." The old man said with a smile, anyway, he is already old, his face is wrinkled, what else do you want to do with your face? Besides, the old husband and wife, hiccups, farts, and nose picks have all been done in front of her, just saying two soft words, what can't be said?

The old man and the old lady were happy, but Ning Nianzhi was so tired that he didn't even eat much dinner, and he didn't save a bath, so he just lay down and went to sleep. I slept until dawn, and listened to Xue come over with a basin and said: "Mama Liao came over to talk, saying that it was the same as before, there was no need to go over in the morning to say goodbye, and I would go over when I had lunch." ”

After Ning Nianzhi washed, while eating breakfast, he listened to another little maid report on things, this maid was nominally second-class, but Ning Nianzhi brought it from the capital, and she was more trusted than Chunhua Qiuyue in Ning Nianzhi's heart.

"The third young lady's maiden brother has come out of the prison, the third young lady wanted to come to thank you in person, but you and the old lady went out, so the third young lady just sent someone to send some things over, not valuable, but the third young lady's maiden family specially picked the fruit from the mountains. Their family has moved out of Cloud City, and now they live in the house they just bought in the countryside, and the original house has been sold.

"The third and fourth girls also came before they left, and left these things for you, Madame." The little maid said as she brought the basket over, and there were some small things in it, including handkerchiefs and purses made by two people, beaded flower ornaments that she had saved by herself, and gadgets that she thought were good, and filled a basket full of them.

Ning Nianzhi pinched it and couldn't help laughing: "You can return the gift?" ”

"The slave maid was bold and took two hairpins in return." The little maid hurriedly said, Ning Nianzhi nodded, and put the things in the basket: "These, put them away first, if they are useful, take them out for me to use, if you don't need them, see if you can put them out, it's very interesting to look at." ”

Before the little maid agreed, she waved her hand again: "Forget it, let's put it all away, I use it personally, or you can do it yourself." ”

Now that I think about it, I suddenly feel that the matter of separating the two, three and four rooms is a bit too anxious and inappropriate. If they are all in the house and live close to each other, they can hear and see any bad ideas or bad things that they have.

But now, the distance is too far, and I don't have the ability to guess people's hearts, so I'm afraid that in the future, I will have to be more vigilant. Although the three rooms seem to have accepted the separation, she never minds thinking about the worst.

Now it looks like the dust has settled, but what if Yuan Dongliang has no son-in-law? Even, is there no child?

In terms of intimacy, on the elders and young, Yuan Dongliang is the heir, whether it is a succession or a new choice of the head of the family, they all have a chance.

Ning Nianzhi sighed, it seems that even if the family is separated, it can't be regarded as completely safe, and it can't be completely relaxed in the future, so it is better to sort out the people in this mansion as soon as possible.

"In the past few days, you have been looking at the people in the house, and there are those who have floating thoughts, have you written them down?" Ning Nianzhi thought for a while, then turned her head and asked, the little maid nodded hurriedly, what she said was not who behaved, empty words are the most difficult to convince, even if she is Madame's henchman, she can't speak indiscriminately, but by preference. Otherwise, there will always be a time when someone will be caught, and when the time comes, without the trust of the lady, everything will be empty.

"The Dong family sent a hundred taels of silver to Mama Liu in the second room, and the slave didn't know what to ask for, but the Dong family stayed in the house, and the Dong family men were originally in the outer courtyard to guard the door, and the Dong family was the mother-in-law of the second room."

"Cuizhu is a second-class maid in the third room, and she sent a golden hairpin to Sister Chunhua, and now Cuizhu is staying in the house to watch the yard, and it is still a three-room yard."

"The accompanying mother of Xiao Miao's side ......"

One by one, one by one, the little maid remembers it very clearly.

Ning Nianzhi kept the names of these people in her heart, she looked at the roster for a few months, and knew the relationship network in the house well, whose family was in-law with whom, who was close to whom, and then matched with these names one by one, and the twists and turns were also taken out separately and thought about it. In the end, who is really staying, who is making excuses to stay, who is completely untrustworthy, and who can be used.

After thinking about it for a long time, it was almost noon when I came back to my senses. Yuan Dongliang and the old man were in the yamen, and they didn't come back for lunch as usual, and the masters in the house were only Ning Nianzhi and the old lady, and Ning Nianzhi was a little bored eating alone, so he went to ask the old lady for peace.

The old lady was talking to Mama Liao, and when she saw Ning Nianzhi, she beckoned: "You happened to be here, I still wanted Mama Liao to see if you had arrived, come and discuss something for you." As he spoke, he took out a small box: "Here, it is the deed of sale of Mama Liao's family, Mama Liao's husband is in the account room, they have three sons, and the daughter-in-law is also in the house, Mama Liao's eldest grandson has been smart since he was a child, and he has never entered the house, Mama Liao asked for grace to study outside, he is a good seedling, I saw that the kid was also a promising, so I thought about letting Mama Liao's family out, so as not to let the kid out in the future and be accused of being born." ”

He enjoyed the blessings of being an official, but he kept the elders of the family to serve others, and he would definitely be included in the imperial history.

Mama Liao coaxed her eyes and muttered to the side: "It's all the old lady's □□, otherwise, that kid wouldn't have the opportunity to study at the beginning, the old lady is very kind, the slave and the maid will be a cow and a horse in the next life, and still serve the old lady, and the old lady must not dislike the slave and the maid at that time." ”

The old lady patted her hand and said to Ning Nianzhi: "Mama Liao has served me all my life, and I can't do without her for a while, didn't their family buy a yard in our back alley?" When you went back, you asked someone to invite Mama Liao, and came into the house every day to talk to me. ”

Ning Nianzhi nodded hurriedly: "Grandmother, don't worry, even if Mama Liao doesn't come, there is also a granddaughter-in-law, and she will not let her grandmother be bored." I'll let someone do it when I go back. By the way, grandmother, aren't you celebrating your birthday in a few days? Why don't we let more people out? It's also a blessing for my grandmother. ”

But I really wanted to come to something, and I was thinking about finding an excuse to drive people out, but now the excuse was sent to the door. With Mama Liao taking the lead, those who don't want to go out can't make trouble even if they want to.

Compared with seniority, which one has served the old lady longer than Mama Liao? That's what I've been serving since I was a child, and then I became a dowry maid, and then I became a housekeeper, and I grew up with the old lady when I was a child.

The old lady raised her eyebrows, her face was clear, although this girl of the Ning family was powerful, she was also young, and she could guess the meaning by moving her eyes. The second room, the third room, and the fourth room have just left, and the rest of the people in this house, who knows which one is the eyeliner that was left behind?

"There are only four masters in our house, and there are really too many people in the house." Ning Nianzhi was also a little embarrassed at the old lady's eyes, reached out and touched his nose, and smiled dryly: "Just let it out, in case there are good seedlings who study or practice martial arts, we won't delay others, right?" ”

The old lady nodded: "Okay, you can do this thing, since I said that the affairs in this house are handed over to you, then I don't regret it, you take care of things, I don't interfere indiscriminately, so as not to have an errand and two orders, it's just that you are still pregnant, and my birthday is not a whole life, you just let people go, don't make a big deal." Besides, we just split up and have a birthday, which is not very good. ”

Ning Nianzhi hesitated, she didn't have the final say in this matter.

"Grandmother......" Without waiting for Ning Nianzhi to speak, the old lady waved her hand: "I do longevity, so I have to listen to me in this matter, it's not that I don't do it, just the four of us have a good meal, and then let some people out, and then send some rice and porridge to the temple, this is better than doing a big job, scattering the silver money, and it can give me blessings, and it can give me the great-grandson who was not born to accumulate virtue, there is nothing more appropriate than this." ”

"I have to discuss this matter with Dongliang, and my grandmother also knows that Dongliang has always been filial, if I answer my grandmother in advance, Dongliang will be angry with me when I turn back, and my grandmother feels sorry for me, okay? Dongliang is angry, and my life will not be easy. ”

Ning Nianzhi hugged the old lady's arm and coquettishly made the old lady laugh: "You leather monkey, it's strange if Dongliang is willing to be angry with you, besides, if he is angry, is it possible that he can still beat and scold you?" If that's the case, come to your grandmother, and your grandmother will call the shots! ”

Although she said that, the old lady really didn't talk about her birthday anymore.

After lunch, Ning Nianzhi said that he was going to visit the garden: "This new garden has just been repaired, and the drawings are definitely different from the actual appearance. ”

The old lady didn't want to, so she immediately went out with Ning Nianzhi and went for a walk in the garden.

Out of the main courtyard to notice that something is not the same, in the past, the old lady here is more more solemn, the house rules and regulations, the trees planted are also very particular, all selected straight and tall trees, the summer is indeed cool, but too shady, even people into the yard do not dare to speak loudly.

Now, the tall trees haven't moved much, but there are two □□ underneath, which are colorful, and they make the yard a little lively.

Even the yard has undergone such a change, let alone in the garden, the two of them are of higher nature and have greater expectations. Sure enough, when I entered the garden, I felt that my eyes were not enough, I really looked at where it was good-looking, this rockery was a place, the flowers were planted beautifully enough, the stone road was paved elegant and interesting, the pond was dug just right, and the pavilion was built as icing on the cake, and the old lady couldn't help but sigh twice: "Is it possible, the girl of our original family, and there are two gardens?" Although this garden is built by the masters, it is also indispensable for the drawings of the two girls of our original family. ”

Ning Nianzhi also smiled: "If this is the case, maybe the future of the two sisters will be able to go to the next level." "Talented girls, that's their own ability, even if it's a concubine, there will be discerning people who take a fancy to it.

The old lady nodded: "Since those two girls know to please you, you can also look at this marriage a little, not to mention letting them marry into a powerful family, at least, they can be the masters of the house in a dignified manner, and they can enjoy a good fortune without being dragged down." ”