Chapter 51: Rules (Pink Ticket 210 Plus More)

  Wang Yingshu was thinking about how to ask the question, when Second Mistress Yu had already smiled and beckoned to Du Zhao: "Come, come to your great-grandmother's place!"

  .

  Ji pushed Dou Zhao gently.

  Dong Zuo was unmoved.

  Ji Shi could only laugh and say to the second lady, "This child, I don't know who he takes after. When buying things, he wants this and that, but when giving things, he becomes shy."

  "It's good, it's good! It's really good." The second lady didn't take offense and turned around to dig out a paper box with a large red bat pattern from under the kang and handed it to Du Zhao, "This is the dried abalone brought back by someone sent by your fifth uncle from Kyoto, go ahead and eat it!"

  Wang Yingshu was shocked.

  Braised abalone is a famous dish in Jiangnan, said to be made with cream, jade liquid and snow-like sauce, without any fishy smell of the abalone, known as the most delicious taste in the world.

  She had heard those children of wealthy families in Kyoto boast about it, but she had never seen it before, let alone tasted it.

  Ji was also somewhat surprised.

  The bone abalone is intricately crafted, and there are not many people in Jiangnan who can make it. Perhaps because of the saying "rarity makes something precious", Madame Taiyuan loves to eat this very much, and whenever Duan Shixiu has the opportunity, he will get some for Ertaifu. This New Year's festival, Duan Shixiu only brought back two boxes, but unexpectedly, Madame Taiyuan gave one box to Duan Zhao.

  She hastily smiled at Dou Zhao and said, "Shougu, this is what your fifth uncle has respectfully given to your paternal grandmother. There are only two boxes in total. Why don't you quickly thank your paternal grandmother?"

  Dòu Zhāo was very surprised.

  Abalone with bones, in her previous life she had eaten it at a family banquet at Wang Qinghuai's house in Yan'an, and at that time, the old lady of the Wang family was secretly pleased, and Wei Yanzhen even privately ridiculed her.

  She didn't go with Sixth Aunt to the Ji's shop to pick up things. Seeing people all over the street buying goods for the New Year, she thought she should also buy something for Sixth Uncle's family, but was afraid that doing so would cause unnecessary trouble, so she bought a big pile of small things and brought them back.

  The one given to Second Mistress is the small box with a Western-style pattern and inlaid enamel that she was holding in her hand.

  The second lady gave her a box of dried abalone with bones.

  Although she didn't like the second lady, she wouldn't misinterpret her kindness because of that.

  Dong Zhao smiled and stepped forward to thank the second lady. He took over the box with a smile.

  The second lady smiled and nodded her head.

  The little maid came in and reported: "Second Madam, Second Young Master and Miss Wu have come to pay their respects to you with Shi Er. Ming sister and Yi sister also came together."

  "Quickly invite them in," Second Mistress Li said repeatedly.

  Wu's family was in Xinle, and Dou's family was in Zhending. They were both officials in the same dynasty, so they could be considered as fellow townspeople. However, Wu Songnian was a bit arrogant, and one was in the Hanlin Academy while the other was in the Ministry of Revenue, so although they were relatives by marriage, their interactions were not very close. Later, when Dou Shixiong was unhappy, Wu Songnian often invited him to his home for drinks, and only then did they become closer. The second lady of the house particularly valued Wu Shan and Wu Ya's two children. This is also why Wu Shan and Wu Ya often came to their home as guests.

  In her past life, Du Zhao had only heard of Wu Shan's name.

  He was good at painting and calligraphy, and Dou Dechang was a close friend. After Dou Dechang eloped with the eldest sister of the Ji family, Wu Shan accompanied him to rush between the Ji and Dou families, one playing the red face and the other playing the white face, not only did they persuade the Ji and Dou families to recognize this marriage, but also turned this scandal into a popular story at that time.

  Dòu Zhāo was deeply impressed by this.

  She always thought that people who can turn black and white upside down are not simple people.

  As a result, when Wu's siblings were surrounded by a large crowd of people with several children walking in, she carefully looked at the only boy, Wu Shan.

  Wu Shan felt someone was watching her. She turned around.

  Dòu Zhāo just smiled politely at him.

  Wu Shan returned her a smile, and like all well-educated seven-year-old boys, his smile was clean and sincere.

  Dong Zhao couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion in his heart.

  In another ten years, I wonder what these children will become?

  Three-year-old Du Ming saw his mother standing aside with her head down as soon as he entered the door.

  She was both surprised and delighted, struggling out of the wet nurse's arms, shouting "Mother" loudly. She rushed over to hug Wang Yingshuang.

  Wang Yingshu's face changed slightly, and she said in a low, urgent voice: "What did I tell you?"

  Du Ming stuck out his tongue and shouted "Auntie" in a spoiled tone.

  The two ladies, Ji and Xiuer, were both experienced women. As soon as they heard that Wang Yinxue had taught Du Ming to call her "Aunt" in front of others, but behind their backs, she let Du Ming call her "Mother", they immediately furrowed their brows.

  If it were in the past, Second Mistress would have scolded him long ago. Now, Duan Duang was already angry with Duan Shixiu for forcing him to divide half of his property to Duan Zhao. Some things in the Eastern House were not easy to intervene in, but this did not mean that she could tolerate such a thing happening under her own eyes.

  "Mei-er," Second Mistress shouted sternly at Dou Ming, "what did Liu Mama teach you?"

  Dong Ming hurriedly let go of his mother and ran to the front of Second Madam, respectfully giving her and Ji Shi a bow.

  Second Mistress "uh" a sound, said to Wang Yingshuang: "Ming sister is not more regular?"

  This sounds quite reasonable.

  Wang Yingshu's heart skipped a beat, knowing that her daughter's address had gone wrong earlier. But in front of the second lady, even a proper daughter-in-law didn't have a share of speaking, let alone her, an identity-unknown concubine?

  She didn't dare say more and hastily smiled: "It's Ming's good fortune that she can learn etiquette in front of you!"

  "It's best if you think that way." Second Mistress He accepted Wang Yingshuang's flattery without hesitation and said, "Let Ming stay by my side!"

  Wang Yingshu was shocked.

  The second lady had already turned her face away and said to Duan Ming: "And what about your sister?" Without looking at Wang Yingxue again.

  Dong Ming didn't deliberately not give Dong Zhao a courtesy, she had lived with Wang Yingxue for many years and besides Wang Yingxue, there was no one else to take care of her. It wasn't until she came to the second madam's side that she began to learn how to pay respects to her elders. However, she was still young and couldn't distinguish between seniority and juniority. She only knew that older people should be given courtesy, while younger ones just needed to be called sister or brother.

  She cleverly called Dou Zhao "sister" and gave a courtesy to Dou Zhao like she did to the second lady.

  Dong Zhao returned the courtesy and instructed Tuo Niang to put the dried abalone that Er Tai Furen had rewarded her with into a crystal dish: "I don't know if Brother Wu and his sister will come. I'll just borrow flowers to worship Buddha, and everyone can taste Grandmother's good things together."

  One remark brought warmth to the whole room, and the maids either fetched dishes or picked up chopsticks. The atmosphere immediately became lively.

  Second Aunt laughed and said: "Still, our Sixth Aunt is knowledgeable. Shougu has followed you for a few days and can even say phrases like 'borrowing flowers to offer Buddha'."

  Ji's heart was filled with surprise, but her niece Ji Yong, who was only two years older than Dou Zhao, had already finished learning the "Three Character Classic", and she didn't think it was particularly surprising.

  "Look at our family's Zhi Ge Er, I taught him for seven years. But I haven't seen him have such a heart," she said humbly, "It can be seen that this is an individual child."

  "You don't have to be polite in front of me either." After all, the things were Second Madam's, and Du Zhao could bring them out for Wu Shi's siblings to eat. Not only did Second Madam think Du Zhao was generous, but she also felt proud. She smiled and said, "Our Shou Gu doesn't eat alone, she's a good child; our Zhi Ge is a good child too, knowing how to study hard at such a young age." As she spoke, she hugged Wu Ya, "And our Ya Jie, so obedient and well-behaved, also a good child."

  Everyone laughed.

  The younger sister was very dissatisfied and pouted: "What about me? What about me?"

  "Oh dear, I forgot about our Yijie," said the second mistress with a smile. "Our Yijie is also a good child." As she spoke, it seemed as if she had suddenly remembered something and turned to Dou Ming: "Our Mingsister is also a good child!"

  Yi Jie'er covered her mouth and smiled, looking very pleased with herself.

  Dong Ming followed Yijie's laughter.

  Wang Yingshuai's heart felt both sour and bitter as she was left out in the cold.

  The second lady has so many children around her, some with good birth, some clever, and some cunning. Her younger sister is only three years old, and Dong Suan has always looked down on Xi Suan. What good can Ming's younger sister get from the second lady?

  She was thinking of ways to bring the child closer to her side.

  The second lady intentionally wanted to teach Wang Yingshu a lesson, so she arranged for capable maids and servants to take care of Du Ming. She even specifically found several children from the servant's quarters who were around the same age as Du Ming to play with her.

  Children are children, and in a few days they will no longer be crying for their wet nurses.

  On New Year's Eve, the people of the Duan family returned to the North Building to worship their ancestors. Wang Yingxue, who was following behind Third Madam, finally found an opportunity to find Duan Ming.

  Dong Mingzheng and his sister Yijie stood in front of the stove waiting for the newly cooked maltose.

  When someone shouted "Ming Jie", several children turned their heads back, and Yi Jie asked: "Who is this?"

  Dong Ming hesitated for a moment and said: "She is my aunt..."

  Yi Jie immediately pulled Dou Ming's hand and said, "It's just a concubine, why bother with her? Let's go, or we won't be able to grab the malt sugar."

  Dong Ming still hesitated, and Yijie became unhappy: "Fine, you can go! If you leave, don't play with me again." Dong Ming heard this and hastily said: "Okay, okay, I'll compete with you for the malt sugar."

  Yi Jie'er happily smiled: "Later I'll go with you to find Shou Gu to play. At Liu Bo Mu's place, there are many wasabi sugars."

  Dong Ming's mouth began to water as he listened, and he turned his head to say to Wang Yingxue: "Auntie, we'll play with you later."

  Wang Yingxue's tears couldn't help but fall down.

  When Pong came to pay her New Year's greetings, she couldn't help but complain to Pong.

  Pang said, "What qualifications do you have to challenge the Duan family now? They want to support Ming's sister, just let them support her. Take this opportunity to take good care of yourself and think of a way to give birth to a son." He also said, "Seventh Master should be back by now?"

  Wang Yingshu's face turned slightly red as she smiled and said: "It's still early!"

  However, she listened to Mrs. Pong's words and quietly invited a doctor to start taking care of her body.

  In April, news came from Kyoto that Du Shiying had passed second in the sixth place and was selected as a Jinshi.

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  Sisters who are reading books, please forgive me. The wireless network card is often disconnected, so I can only post hastily and talk about it later.

  PS: It seems that I only need to add one more chapter, so please sisters with pink tickets actively vote, I have made enough mental preparation for double updates…. If you like this work, welcome to cast a recommendation ticket and monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation.