The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

Having said that, he slowly poured a glass of water for his sister-in-law to moisten her throat. Sister-in-law Pei took the cup and took a sip of water, then she continued speaking.

"Seeing that Madam Xie was getting older, the elders of the Xie family finally got anxious and began to relax the selection criteria, allowing some high-ranking officials and new nobles who were seeking marriage to enter the Xie Mansion. So a bastard son of the Xu family was able to enter the Xie Mansion to seek marriage, but Madam Xie did not like the bastard son, but instead liked his brother who accompanied him, your father-in-law who has now passed away."

He asked slowly, "My father-in-law should have had a family at that time, right?"

Pei shook her head and said, "At that time, your father-in-law's first wife had passed away for more than a year, and the position of mistress in the family was vacant."

Huanhuan then asked, "How could the Xie family agree to let their daughter, whom they took such good care of, become a concubine?"

The sister-in-law replied, "You think being a concubine is unfair to Mrs. Xie, but from the perspective of the elders of the Xie family, Mrs. Xie was already 22 years old at that time, and it was not easy for her to get married. After so many years, they finally met a man who made their daughter nod her head, and he was also a young man who had no bad habits and was excellent in all aspects. The elders of the Xie family were naturally overjoyed."

My sister-in-law picked up the cup and took a sip of water, then said, "Although she is a concubine, she is also the legitimate wife of the legitimate son."

Huanhuan seemed to be thinking about something, and muttered, "So that's how it is. I was wondering, how come the great Xie family, and the first daughter in three generations, was so spoiled, didn't marry into a noble family as usual, but married into the Xu family instead? So there is such a story behind it."

Hearing this, Pei shook her head again and said, "Of course, the Xie family has a deep family background, but the Xu family is also a new noble family with a prominent family background in the current dynasty. Their legitimate children are legitimate royal relatives, so they are naturally worthy of the Xie family. Therefore, this marriage does not disgrace the Xie family. It can be regarded as a match made in heaven."

Huanhuan was talking excitedly with her sister-in-law when Mrs. Feng and an old servant holding her granddaughter came in. While handing the child to her daughter-in-law, she brought a piece of news that surprised Huanhuan very much - her son-in-law had arrived.

"Xu Qu?" Huan Huan said in surprise, "It's not even noon yet! How come he's here so early?"

"My son-in-law came here on horseback, and I guess he took the mountain road." Mrs. Feng said this while staring at her breastfeeding granddaughter.

"You've arrived so early. If you want to ride horses on the mountain road, you will probably have to set off at dawn. Your brother-in-law really cares about you." Pei said slowly with a teasing smile.

"Go out and entertain your son-in-law." Mrs. Feng looked at her little granddaughter intently without raising her eyes.

Huanhuan glanced at her sister-in-law, who was feeding Xiao Yuzhu, and said, "Sister-in-law, you should take a rest for a while. I'll be back soon." Pei raised her head and nodded with a smile.

She slowly came to the main hall, where her father, Mr. Feng, was sitting on the main seat facing the door, and Xu Qu was sitting upright on the guest seat on the side. The two seemed to be in an awkward stage where they had nothing to say after the polite exchanges.

As soon as she entered the room, Mr. Feng stood up immediately as if he had met a savior, and said to Huanhuan: "Huanhuan, you entertain my son-in-law. I have something else to do, so I'll go first." After that, he turned around and faced Xu Qu so that he could see his mouth shape clearly, and said: "My dear son-in-law, I have something else to do, so I'll leave for a while. You don't have to be polite, just treat you like you're at home." After that, he hurried away.

After watching Master Feng leave, he slowly turned around to look at Xu Qu, who looked tired, and asked, "Why are you here so early?"

Before Xu Qu could reply, his elder brother Feng Shunqing walked into the hall. Xu Qu immediately raised his hands and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, brother, on the birth of your daughter."

Hearing this, Feng Shunqing's sleepy face immediately broke into a smile, and he also raised his hands and bowed in return, saying, "Thank you, brother-in-law. Congratulations to you, brother-in-law."

Looking at these two tired-faced men being polite to each other in a serious manner, Huan Huan found the scene a bit funny. Without saying much, she said goodbye to her brother and took Xu Qu back to her room.

As soon as he entered the house, Xu Qu took out an exquisite rosewood jewelry box that he had brought with him and said to Huan Huan, "Madam, this is a gift I prepared for my niece in our name."

Huanhuan took the box and opened it. Inside was a longevity lock made of pure gold and two small pure gold bracelets. This gift was indeed valuable. Huanhuan was very grateful for Xu Qu's thoughtfulness. She said, "Thank you, husband. I will give it to my sister-in-law in a while. It's still early in the morning. You can rest in the room for a while. I will go to my sister-in-law's place and call you before lunch." After that, Huanhuan took the small wooden box and left.

When she returned to her sister-in-law's room, her niece had been carried out. Her sister-in-law was the only one in the room, resting with her eyes closed. When she heard Huanhuan coming in, she opened her eyes. Huanhuan handed the small wooden box to her sister-in-law, and told her that it was a gift from Xu Qu for her niece. Her sister-in-law Pei smiled and thanked Huanhuan, took the wooden box and opened it, admiring the exquisite workmanship of this set of gold jewelry with Huanhuan.

After a while, Pei sighed: "My brother-in-law pays so much attention to my family's affairs, which shows that he cares about me very much. If it weren't for his ear disease, my brother-in-law would be an impeccable man."

Huanhuan smiled faintly upon hearing this, and then Mrs. Pei continued, "Speaking of your brother-in-law's ear disease, do you know what the cause is?"

He shook his head slowly and said, "I don't know the details, I just know that I accidentally ate something poisonous when I was eleven years old."

"Alas!" Sister-in-law Pei sighed and said, "My cousin also mentioned this this time. It's a bit long to talk about it."

He slowly stood up and sat closer to his sister-in-law, saying, "No hurry, sister-in-law, please tell me slowly."

Mrs. Pei nodded and began to talk: "I heard that the Xu family got a delicacy from the south. Although this ingredient tastes good, it is highly poisonous. Before cooking, it needs to be soaked for two hours and then stewed for an hour to eliminate the toxicity. Only then can it be eaten. On the birthday of my brother-in-law, Mrs. Xie personally made this delicacy for him. While the ingredients were stewing, Mrs. Xie went to the study to get something and accidentally saw the mourning poem that Mr. Xu wrote to his late wife..."

At this point, Pei stopped and asked Huanhuan: "Is your brother-in-law's mother's death anniversary the same day as your brother-in-law's birthday?"

He nodded slowly and said, "Yes, my late mother-in-law died of complications during childbirth when she gave birth to Xu Qu."

Pei said: "When I heard that the date was so coincidental, I guessed that this was most likely the case."

Then Pei said, "After reading the mourning poem, Mrs. Xie was so angry that she went to the kitchen and removed the ingredients that were still cooking and had not yet been completely detoxified from the stove. She took her daughter and the maid and cook who came with her as a dowry back to her parents' home."

Huanhuan asked curiously, "What kind of mourning poem could make a second wife so angry even though she knew there was a previous wife?"

Pei pursed her lips and said, "I don't know about that. My cousin doesn't know either. How can an outsider know so much?"

He slowly stood up, poured a glass of water for his sister-in-law and handed it to her, saying, "That's right, what happened next?"

Mrs. Pei took the cup and continued, "After noon, Mr. Xu came back from a social event and saw that the servants in the house had gone nowhere and his son hadn't even had lunch yet. So he took his son to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat. He saw the Biannan delicacies still warm by the stove..."

"He thought the detoxification process had been completed, so the father and son ate Bian Nan's poisonous food?" Huanhuan covered his mouth with his hands in surprise and guessed.

Pei took a sip of water, nodded and said, "Then it became like this. Master Xu died of poisoning, and my brother-in-law woke up after treatment, but he has since suffered from ear disease and can no longer hear."

After listening to his sister-in-law's story, Xu Qu was shocked. His hand covering his mouth was slightly raised and motionless. It turned out that Xu Qu's ear disease was caused by Mrs. Xie.

Pei sighed, "Maybe she didn't mean it, but some people think she did. After all, it was a birthday banquet dish for her brother-in-law, but she didn't expect that Mr. Xu would eat it by chance. However, whether it was intentional or not, the stepmother is to blame for her brother-in-law's ear disease and Mr. Xu's death. Moreover, it was caused by jealousy. She was widowed at a young age and was known for being jealous. She had no sons and no one to rely on in her husband's family. I think she must have had a hard time."

He slowly frowned, thinking: Poor Xu Qu, his birthday is not only his mother's death anniversary, but also his father's death anniversary. He has to depend on his stepmother who is difficult to trust. Only he understands the tangled taste of it.