The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Chapter 407 Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Relationship

After Zhang Ping'an sat down beside the bed, Nanny Rong came forward to help lower the bed curtains, and then quietly retreated.

After a while, the sound of a door closing was heard at the door.

Without outsiders around, Zhang Ping'an felt much more comfortable.

Only a dim light remained in the tent. The two men looked at each other intently, with sparks colliding in their eyes.

At this moment, it feels like time has stopped!

Zhang Pingan raised his hand and gently held the other person's face. The two of them couldn't help but slowly move closer. Everything was said without words!

. . . . . . . . . . . .

After a night.

Before daybreak, servants filed in and filled the large wooden barrel behind the bedroom screen with hot water. Maids also prepared scented beans and clean underwear for bathing.

Although the servants' movements were very quiet, Zhang Ping'an was still woken up. He needed an absolutely quiet environment to sleep.

As soon as he moved, the bride in his arms woke up.

Miss Qian half-propped herself up and raised her head, her voice still a hint of sleepiness as she asked, "Did I disturb you? I specifically told them to come in at this time yesterday."

Zhang Pingan shook his head: "It's okay, I usually get up around this time too. Actually, it's still early now, why don't you sleep a little longer!"

"No, let's get up now. A new daughter-in-law cannot be late for serving tea to her parents-in-law on the first day, otherwise my parents-in-law will think that I, a daughter-in-law, don't know the rules and have a bad impression of me!" Miss Qian covered her mouth and yawned delicately, and then asked the maid to come over to help her dress and wash.

Zhang Ping'an usually washes and dresses by himself. When the maid came over with a hot towel to wipe his face, his first reaction was to step back.

Aunt Rong smiled and said, "Sir, Chuntao is a family-born girl. She has been trained since she was a child. She is very clever. You can rest assured and let her serve you!"

"No need, I'm used to doing it myself," Zhang Ping'an said, and walked to the washbasin rack, wet the towel and washed his face.

When Aunt Rong saw this, she paused and stopped trying to persuade her.

Zhang Ping'an could see that Nanny Rong must be a very useful maidservant to his wife, otherwise she would not have been married with him as a dowry, and she also had to manage the other servants.

But he doesn't want to force himself to accommodate anyone in these living habits.

I believe my wife won’t say anything.

Half an hour later, the two of them finished washing and dressing.

The maid prepared a light-colored embroidered dress for her, and covered it with a cloak of the same color. She did not wear any complicated jewelry. The bride looked much fresher and more gentle than yesterday.

"How about it? Is it okay to dress like this?" Miss Qian looked over and asked, with a smile in her eyes and a bright look on her face. Although she was sick, she looked very lively.

"The madam is naturally extremely beautiful," Zhang Ping'an praised in a gentle voice.

This is what he really thinks. His wife has an oval face, regular features and fair skin. As the saying goes, "a white complexion can hide a hundred uglinesses." Her skin is good to begin with, and she becomes even more beautiful after applying makeup!

"Isn't that too strange of a name? When you're alone, just call me Youyi. Otherwise, I feel like I've married a cold, stone-cold person!"

"Why not? I was afraid that you would think it's not okay to call me that. After all, you are the daughter of a wealthy family, and you must have been brought up with very strict rules since childhood," Zhang Ping'an explained with a faint smile.

Then he continued, "The king is surrounded by a great crowd, and his left and right are holding a jade scepter. The jade scepter is majestic, and the gentleman is very suitable. I guess your name is taken from this line in the Book of Songs, Da Ya. It has a very good meaning!"

"My grandfather gave it to me. He was a very kind elder," Qian Youyi said with a smile.

Then he stood up and said, "Let's go to the main hall to pay our respects to our parents!"

The two went to the main room together.

It was already bright outside. Walking on the corridor and breathing the fresh morning air was simply refreshing!

When they arrived at the main hall, Zhang Laoer and Xu were already sitting at the top of the table.

They are used to getting up early, and since it was their first time being grandparents, they were a little nervous. They didn't sleep well last night, so they got up even earlier.

"Dad, I'm fine. Mom, I'm fine." After Qian Youyi entered the main hall, he bowed slowly to Zhang Laoer and Xu who were sitting at the top.

Zhang Laoer was the father-in-law and had to maintain the dignity of an elder. He just put on a serious face, nodded and said "hmm" to indicate that he heard it.

When Xu saw her daughter-in-law's true appearance for the first time, she had a lot of thoughts in her mind. First, she was shocked. To be honest, her daughter-in-law was very beautiful, but not quite what she had imagined.

Because this beauty is not the kind of blessed beauty that is popular nowadays.

The current fashion is round faces, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and flat noses. Most people think that this is what the mistress of the house should look like.

But my daughter-in-law has a small face, a little bigger than a palm, with willow-shaped eyebrows, a small nose and a small mouth, and she doesn't look very generous.

She does have some advantages, that is, her skin is very fair, and after applying rouge, her face looks rosy and her complexion is very good.

But after all, Xu was so old and had a sharp eye. After a closer look, she realized that her daughter-in-law was actually in poor condition. She was a little sickly and very thin, as if she would fall down with a gust of wind.

Like a sick Xi Shi.

All in all, she didn't quite fit the image of a daughter-in-law she had imagined.

But now that they were married, saying these things would only make people dislike her. Xu was not stupid. After turning these thoughts over in her mind, she still managed a decent smile and replied, "Hurry up and get up. We are a family now. There is no need to be so distant!"

"Thank you for your consideration, mother!" Qian Youyi responded softly.

At this time, the maid brought two cups of tea. Qian Youyi picked up the cup and offered it to Zhang Laoer: "Dad, have some tea!"

Zhang Lao Er said "hmm", took out the prepared gift for changing his name, handed it to his daughter-in-law and said, "Live a good life from now on!"

Qian Youyi took it, thanked him, and handed it to the maid to keep.

Then he brought tea to Xu: "Have some tea, mother!"

Mrs. Xu was also very tactful and did not intend to make things difficult for her. After taking a sip as a token of her respect, she gave the gift of changing her name to her daughter-in-law.

Both of them were rough people and could not say anything very literary to express their blessing. Knowing that their daughter-in-law had read a lot of books, they simply decided not to embarrass themselves.

Zhang Ping'an knew that the gift his parents prepared for her to change her name was a pair of jade bracelets. This was his suggestion at the time. After all, his wife had everything she needed, and she probably wouldn't appreciate gold or silver as a gift, and might even think it was tacky!

After serving tea, Zhang Ping'an helped his wife get up from the mat.

The housekeeper watched as the tea was served and then asked the maid to serve the meal.

This breakfast is completely different from the previous ones.

There were dim sum, rice porridge, side dishes, and snacks on the Eight Immortals table, a total of sixteen dishes, and the table was almost full.

And the plate must be removed when it is half empty.

Zhang Laoer hesitated to speak, but finally couldn't help but ask, "Isn't this too wasteful?"

At this time, it is obvious who is being asked.

Qian Youyi smiled gently and explained, "Dad, my daughter-in-law has been weak since she was young, so we often make some medicinal food to take care of her. The doctor said that one should eat fine food and fine meat, which is good for the body. However, no matter how delicious the food is, eating only the same thing will make people feel monotonous and bored. There is no need for us to suffer for the sake of saving money!"

Zhang Laoer listened to his daughter-in-law's dignified speech and knew that he could not win the argument and no one would listen to him. This girl from a wealthy family was really good at talking!

Then he stopped talking.

Zhang Pingan knew that this was a collision of two completely different life philosophies, and he could only slowly adjust them. "Dad, Mom, what the Madam said makes some sense. In the previous dynasty, people also said, 'Don't swallow all the food on the plate, leave some for everyone.' It means that you should leave some for others to taste, and these will not be wasted. The servants will divide it up later. Our family has the conditions now. These are trivial matters, don't take them to heart!"

After hearing this, Xu, who was almost finished eating and was about to put down her chopsticks, simply scooped another bowl of chicken soup and porridge to drink, otherwise it would have been a bargain for the servants.

I didn't expect the servants of this wealthy family to eat so well, but my daughters and grandchildren haven't even had the chance to enjoy such good food?!

The taste of this chicken soup porridge is different from the usual one. It seems to be made from chicken soup, but it has an indescribable freshness.

The materials used are definitely not simple.

I secretly complained that only girls from wealthy families knew how to eat.

Although there were a lot of dishes on the table, Qian Youyi actually ate the least in the end. He picked two or three of his favorite dishes, moved his chopsticks for a few times, and then wiped his mouth and stopped eating.

When a few people finished eating, there was still a lot left on the table.

After all, there are four people who can't finish it no matter how much.

Xu's heart ached at what she saw, but she still forced a smile and said nothing.

Judging from what just happened, I'm probably doomed to be a cowardly mother-in-law!

As the saying goes, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have been enemies for thousands of years. Since ancient times, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has rarely been particularly harmonious.

Either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind!

Now the gap between the two sides is so huge, it is obvious who will overwhelm whom!