In the upper room, Mrs. Chen was laughing with Mrs. Wu, and Feng and Chen sat down at the bottom, eating tea and having fun. Seeing that Sister Chen Wan followed Mr. Wu over, Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "I'm tired of Mr. Wu today, so sit down and rest." ”

and ordered the tea to be boiling on the girl's head.

Chen smiled and said to Chen Wan's three daughters: "The first day of school, how did you feel?" What have you learned, so that we can listen to it? ”

When Chen Wan heard this, she lowered her head and smiled, and memorized the first four sentences of the "Three Character Classic" taught by Mr. Wu, and the little girl who was waiting for her held the big characters copied by the three girls in the hall and presented them. Mrs. Chen and the others saw it, and smiled unconsciously: "It's well written." ”

Mrs. Wu felt that Mr. Wu had wasted a morning and only taught a few words, which was quite suspicious of grinding foreign workers. For fear that everyone in the Chen Mansion would think it was inappropriate.

Mrs. Chen glanced at her expression, and said to Mr. Wu with a smile: "Girls are not as heavy as boys in schoolwork. What's more, they are at the age when they have just entered school, so Mr. Wu's arrangement is very good. Don't add to your schoolwork, if you wear them out, it's not good. ”

Feng Shi also smiled beside him: "I often hear people say step by step, that's what it means. ”

When Mrs. Wu heard this, she smiled and said, "Sure enough, the old lady and the wife understand, but I want to be left." ”

Chen smiled and asked the eldest sister and the second sister, "Do you all understand the homework taught by Mr. Wu today?" ”

The eldest sister and the second sister nodded and agreed, but Chen was not at ease, and forced the two sisters to carry it in front of them, so they said with a smile: "Since I was making a fuss about studying and going to school, I should work hard." If you are lazy, be careful. ”

Without saying a word, he turned back to Mr. Wu and said, "Their sisters will be handed over to Mr. Wu." If he is disobedient, or beats or scolds, he will be the husband. Don't be indulgent. ”

Mr. Wu looked at the eldest sister and the second sister who were standing obediently on the side, and said with a smile: "Their sisters are very obedient. ”

While he was talking, there was a boy on the second door who said that someone handed a prayer note to the door. When Mrs. Chen heard this, she ordered someone to take the post and come in. Because the ladies were illiterate, Mrs. Chen asked Mr. Wu to read it, and Mr. Wu took the post and looked down at it, but his face changed greatly.

Everyone looked at each other, and Mrs. Chen asked, "Whose post is this?" ”

Mr. Wu hesitated for a long time, and then said worriedly: "This is the post of the late husband's family." I don't know why they sent the prayer slip to the house. ”

When everyone in the Chen Mansion heard this, they looked at each other and were deeply surprised. Feng didn't wait for Mrs. Chen to speak, and raised her voice to ask the little girl who came in to pass the post, "What about the person who sent the post?" Is it male or female? ”

The little girl bowed her head and replied, "It's a face-wrenching mother-in-law, waiting in the gatehouse." ”

Old Madam Chen frowned and said in a deep voice, "Call her in, I have something to ask her." ”

The little girl agreed to step back. turned around for a while, followed by the mother-in-law who was ordered to deliver the post.

Everyone looked at the woman carefully, and saw that this person was in his forties, with gray hair neatly tied into a bundle, two or three plain silver hairpins inserted on his head, and he was wearing a navy blue jacket and a blue satin armor, which was half new and not old. When he stepped forward to bow and salute, his bearing was still calm.

Mrs. Chen put aside the post in her hand, and said with a smile: "We have no contact with the house. I suddenly received a post from the house today, and I was a little inexplicable for a while. I don't know what to do in the house? ”

When the mother-in-law heard this, she glanced at Mr. Wu with a strange expression, bowed her head and responded: "The old lady of our family heard that the house hired Wu as a female gentleman, for fear that the old lady would not know the reason and bring the reputation of the girls in the house." I want to sue sù in person, but I am afraid that there is no contact before, and it is abrupt for a while. Therefore he ordered the slave and maid to send a prayer note first. ”

Hearing this, before the old lady Chen could speak, Chen sneered and snorted on the side, and said: "Your old lady is very lenient, and she even cares about other people's housework. ”

Mrs. Wu and Mr. Wu, who were sitting on the side, were so ashamed that their faces were flushed and they were restless.

When the woman heard this, she was silent. Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "Our two families have never been alive, but I didn't expect the house to be so enthusiastic, but I want to thank you for your trouble." But I also have a word here, please pass it on to your old lady. ”

The woman should have lowered her head.

Mrs. Chen said: "There is a way that is a family and another family, and everyone lives their lives behind closed doors. We don't want to know what kind of grudge you have against Mr. Wu, but we don't need to be blamed by someone who has nothing to do with it. We have received the old lady's wishes, and there is no need to say more in the future. It's a cold day, but it's hard to run this trip for you. While it's still early, you can go back. ”

When the woman heard this, her face turned red with anger. It's just that as a servant and maid, she can't talk seriously with her master's family, so she has to retire with shame and anger.

When everyone in the hall saw this behavior, they all felt very relieved. I think it is also, can give birth to a daughter like the Chen family, who doesn't care about etiquette and rules, how can Mrs. Chen really have a soft personality. It's just that he was facing his family before, and he didn't need to show the spikes on his body. Now that I saw someone inexplicably picking quarrels and provoking trouble, provoking her head, I couldn't help but stab her back.

After the mother-in-law left, Mrs. Wu and Mr. Wu said with shame on their faces: "It's all our fault, and we've caused trouble to the house." ”

Chen didn't wait for Mrs. Chen to speak, waved her hand and sneered: "It's all that villain who is at ease, and it has nothing to do with you." Do not be so restrained. As Mom said, every family is different, and now that you are away from that fire pit, don't pay attention to those people. ”

After a pause, he said indignantly: "It's really a big forest, and there are all kinds of birds." I thought that the Zhao family's behavior was extremely shameless, but I didn't expect that your husband's family would be even more serious. Not only is he ruthless and unrighteous to take revenge, but now he is even in charge of others, if I don't teach him a lesson, he doesn't know that Aunt Chen is not easy to mess with! ”

When everyone heard this, they were shocked. Mrs. Chen hurriedly asked, "What are you going to do?" Now you are a widow at home, and you are no better than others. Don't make trouble. ”

Chen sneered: "I'm just afraid that we will settle the matter, and that bastard will not give up." Today, my mother rejected the family's thoughts, and if the family was annoyed and angry, they arranged Mr. Wu. Now Mr. Wu is teaching our girls to read, and it will definitely affect our girls when the time comes. I don't care about my reputation, I'm just afraid that my mother and sister-in-law will be annoyed. There are also people who don't know what to do, but after listening to it, they implicated Sister Wan'er's marriage. In this case, if we turn him upside down first, we will save others from calculating us. ”

That Chen was originally a windless and waveless character. When he was not married, he said nothing at home and made his temperament good; When he married into the Zhao family, he was also arrogant and domineering, and he refused to restrain one or two.

Now that the widow is at home, he has long felt restrained. The town picks and chooses during the day, and is eager to make some trouble for recreation. It's just that everyone in the family knows her temperament, and she refuses to take care of her seriously, and there is an old lady Chen who is pressing, and she doesn't dare to bare her teeth.

is such a person, she is good if she doesn't look for the bad luck of others, how can she tolerate others to provoke her. What's more, after listening to the words of Feng's eldest sister-in-law Xiao Sun earlier, I was even more upset for Mr. Wu. Therefore, without waiting for everyone to open their mouths to persuade him, he asked Mr. Wu about the specific matters of his expulsion from her husband's house, intending to take advantage of this life to make a living, so as to uncover a layer of skin from the family.

Mr. Wu has a supple temperament and is used to forbearance. Even though her husband's family was treacherous and abandoned her. She was very resentful in her heart, and she still held the mentality of "family ugliness should not be publicized", and she was very ashamed to export. Chen saw that she was hesitant, but he always refused to explain. was angry for a while, and scolded: "I still respect you for being a literate person, you should always have some temperament." Now I see you acting, how slimy. Everyone else has stepped on your head, and you still hesitate and refuse to tear your face. I can't complain that others are willing to pinch you, with your temperament, who will you bully instead of bullying you? ”

Seeing this, Mr. Wu cried unconsciously: "I know it's my fault. Now I don't dare to teach in the house, for fear of bringing the reputation of the girls in the house. The old lady and aunt in the house are all good people, but I am not blessed. I'm leaving here with my mother now, and I don't want to bother the house anymore. ”

Chen laughed angrily and shouted, "You want to leave now?" It's late. What kind of family is our Chen family, how can you come and leave when you say it! If you want that bastard to listen, don't say that you are afraid of tiring us, but our Chen family is afraid of them. I tell you, if you want to fight today, you have to fight, and if you don't want to fight, you have to fight like this. So that that bastard knows that my Aunt Chen is not easy to mess with! ”

Seeing this, Mrs. Chen and Feng Shi were angry and funny. Hurriedly opened his mouth to persuade: "Sister Hui, sit down and talk." When you do this, you let people who don't know see it, and you think that someone else has done something to you. ”

Mrs. Wu also said: "I know that my aunt and grandmother are kind-hearted, and they are unhappy for our mother and son." I thanked my daughter in advance. She is young, short-faced, and refuses to talk lightly about people's strengths and weaknesses. My old woman is not afraid of others saying that I have a long tongue, and I will say it. ”

When Mr. Wu heard this, he immediately cried to stop him. Mrs. Wu looked at her daughter who wiped her tears with her eyes, and said with hatred: "You don't want to be like this." It turns out that their Zhou family can't stand you, since she is shameless, why should I cover it up for her. On the contrary, I wronged my daughter, and there is nowhere to complain. ”

When Chen heard this, he hurriedly told Mr. Wu that he didn't need to say much, and sat down next to the head of Mrs. Wu, intending to listen to the gossip of the people on the side.

Mrs. Wu straightened her thoughts a little, and then told this story.

It turned out that when Mr. Wu's father was still there, he was teaching in his hometown. Because of his good teaching, he has □□ a few talents, and even one or two of them have been selected as officials in the court. Therefore, it is very sought after in the original hometown. The people who had a little wealth in the realm and wanted to make progress loved to send their children to study at Mr. Wu's father's school.

This is the case with Mr. Wu's husband, the proud protégé of Mr. Wu's father.

It's just that unlike those disciples who have wealth, Mr. Wu's husband's family was originally poor. His family also had no money to provide for his children to study. Mr. Wu's husband's real name is Tuesday Dog, and he was just hired by Wu's father to carry water and chop wood for the school. It's just that he is smart and motivated, and often in his spare time, he secretly hides under the window of the church house and listens to Wu's father preaching knowledge.

Father Wu saw that he was beautiful and willing to work hard, so he often took the time to mention points. Later, when he saw that he was really a scholar, he accepted him as a disciple, renamed him Zhou Pu, and even funded him to study and take scientific examinations. Later, Zhou Pu really won Xiucai, and Wu's father married his daughter, Mr. Wu, to Zhou Pu.

The relationship between Mr. Wu and Zhou Pu is not bad, the young couple and He Meimei respect each other like guests, even if Mr. Wu has been married to the Zhou family for more than ten years, there is nothing to come out, and the Zhou family is holding Zhou Pu as the heir, and no matter how beautiful the concubine, Zhou Pu will not be able to do so.

As a result, Mr. Wu was notorious for jealousy among the villagers. At that time, although Mr. Wu was dissatisfied, when he thought of Zhou Pu's consistent treatment of her, he only felt that his heart was sweeter than honey, and he didn't care much about the rumors outside.

Until Wu's father died of old age and cold, and Zhou Pu was promoted at a young age, the Zhou family thought that whether it was a family or a family asset, they could compare with the Wu family, and Mr. Wu did not come out for more than ten years, which is really a loss. At the instigation of others, he once again gave birth to the idea of giving Zhou Pu a concubine.

This time, the old lady of the Zhou family took a fancy to her niece and nephew in her mother's family, that is, Zhou Pu's cousin. I was afraid that Zhou Pu would be stubborn and unwilling to agree, so the old lady of the Zhou family was instigated by her mother's brother and had the idea of cutting first and then playing.

She thinks about it, but she thinks that Zhou Pu is hard-mouthed and a man, so she must have some problems with greedy flowers. On weekdays, he is controlled by Mr. Wu, and he doesn't dare to do anything, if the raw rice is cooked into cooked rice, how can there be any reason to twist it again. What's more, that person is not an outsider, but his cousin, even if Zhou Pu is dissatisfied, for the sake of the relationship between the two families, he will agree. At that time, as long as this cousin is pregnant with the flesh and blood of the Zhou family, and then has the support of his aunt and uncle, even if Mr. Wu is the main room, it will not be difficult to be embarrassed.

The abacus was well played, and Mrs. Zhou sent Mr. Wu's family to accompany her mother on the pretext that Wu's father died of illness and Mrs. Wu needed someone to accompany her. Mr. Wu thought that this was her mother-in-law's consideration for her, and she couldn't think of this anymore, so she immediately packed up her burden and went home.

At this time, the old lady of the Zhou family took advantage of Mr. Wu's absence to deliberately get drunk with Zhou Pu, intending to cook raw rice and mature rice. Unexpectedly, after Zhou Pu woke up from drinking, not only did he refuse to accept a concubine according to the old lady of the Zhou family, but he also scolded his cousin for being incorruptible and shameful in front of everyone.

Since he died, even if he stole chickens and rice, the two families also became enemies. Mrs. Zhou's maiden brother did not give up, and did not mention the dirty calculations behind them, only saying that Zhou Pu was □□ unsuccessful, but forced the girl of their family to death, and asked for an explanation.

Although Zhou Pu was not ashamed of his cousin's character, he never thought that he was really forced to die, and he had no idea when he landed. I also saw that my uncle was really making a lot of trouble, and this kind of family ugliness was not easy to be too public--not only did it not break lightly, but it became more and more black--I was afraid that my uncle's family would really ignore it and make trouble in the yamen, which would also tarnish his name. It's not good to tear his face, so he can only pinch his nose and let his uncle's family extort money, not only losing a family fortune, but also being persuaded by Mrs. Zhou to accept her cousin's tablet to enter the door.

I thought that was the end of the matter. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Zhou's maiden family thought that she had a handle after this incident, and actually regarded the Zhou family as a cash cow. When the money is not enough, they will make trouble again - so the cycle continues, and after a year's work, the Zhou family's originally rich family assets are gradually revealed, and the relationship between the two families is no longer the same.

Because of this bad debt, Zhou Pu felt aggrieved, and it was not easy to tell the same person, so he could only hold it in his heart. Mr. Wu also felt very aggrieved, and even looked down on the Zhou family's actions. Although Mr. Wu has a kind temperament, he acts innocently. The heart is uncomfortable, and the words of action are naturally revealed. Although Zhou Pu also agreed with Mr. Wu's words, he felt that death was greater, and it was his uncle's house - even if he didn't look at his uncle, he had to take care of his mother's face. Therefore, he often advised Mr. Wu not to be like this, and the young couple also had several quarrels because of this.

After this incident, the old lady Zhou not only did not think about her own mistakes, but complained that Mr. Wu was too jealous on weekdays, so she controlled Zhou Pu's brain. Otherwise, Zhou Pu accepted her nephew as a concubine that day, and everyone is harmonious with each other, how can there be anything today. Mr. Wu sometimes couldn't bear it, so he argued with Mrs. Zhou, Zhou Pu was caught in the middle, persuading his mother and his wife, and he was angry with splints on both sides, and gradually had no intention of studying. When the medicine stone is ineffective, and the disease is terminal, the year's work will be gone.

Seeing her husband die of depression, Mr. Wu was not only sad, but also felt that this was his own reason. If he had been more lenient and had not quarreled with Zhou Pu, perhaps Zhou Pu would not have died early. Therefore, when Mrs. Zhou expelled her from the Zhou family on the grounds that she had no children, Mr. Wu was ashamed and indignant, but he refused to argue with Mrs. Zhou. Even Mrs. Zhou was instigated by her mother's family to withhold her dowry, but Mr. Wu endured it.

Gain's heart is like ashes, and those things outside the body are worthless.

If it weren't for the fact that there was still an old mother to take care of at home, Mr. Wu would have gone with Zhou Pu like this, and it would be considered that this husband and wife love would have been fulfilled. So no matter how much the Chen family hated and forced her to ask her, she refused to say a bad word about the Zhou family. It's not that she thinks about the good of the Zhou family, it's just that in her heart, she really can't stand her husband Zhou Pu.

These private affairs of the back house, except for the three families involved, even if they are as good as Mr. Wu's close friend Xiao Sun, they are not known. If it weren't for Mrs. Zhou's pressing people too much, the wife of the Wu family, who felt sorry for her daughter, wouldn't be able to see it, I'm afraid no one would know about these things after all.