Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 108 Mother-in-law Meets Son-in-law
Even though it was not the first time they saw Zhu Ying, Qiao Hu and Yang Hao could not help but blush when they saw this young lady jump off the horse and then grab Zhang Shou's sleeve.
When he was in the village, there were some young girls who talked about the young master behind his back with sparkling eyes. But although the young master was always smiling, he always seemed far away. Therefore, the people who talked to the young master were always married women with children, and most of the girls just looked at him. When Zhu Ying came, it was even more so.
That rich young lady, dressed in gorgeous clothes and riding a horse, who seemed to be able to burn people's eyes, made people feel ashamed no matter how they looked at her!
Seeing Zhu Ying grabbing him and trying to leave without saying anything, Zhang Shou had no choice but to remind her: "Yingying, I have two people with me!"
Zhu Ying turned her head and saw Qiao Hu and Yang Hao hastily looking away. She immediately shouted, "Zhu Hong, Zhu Shi, you two take Yang Hao and Qiao Hu with you! Ah Shou, come with me quickly. It took a lot of effort for mother to come home. If you don't go, it will be terrible if she leaves!"
Zhang Shou had no choice but to remind the young lady again and again, which made the young lady remember that she could ride a horse, but her riding skills were not yet good enough for her to gallop.
Therefore, Zhu Ying could only endure the slow trot of the horse with patience. Especially when she had to take a shortcut from Buliang Bridge to the North Street of the Imperial City and had to dismount and walk at Bei'an Gate, she almost became anxious, and only when she saw the street of Zhaofu in sight did she feel relieved.
When she came out, she specifically instructed people that if her mother was gone, then they should draw a crying face at the street corner. Now the wall is clean and there is nothing on it, so her mother should not be gone, right?
When she arrived at the gate of Duke Zhao's mansion, she asked loudly without even getting off the horse: "I brought A Shou here, is mother still here?" If she really left, she would take A Shou to Zhaoming Temple and bring him back even if she had to beg him to do anything!
Several doormen at the door tried hard to hold back their laughter, especially when they saw Zhang Shou, who was standing behind them, also had a helpless look on his face. One of them, who was very smart, said seriously, "Don't worry, Miss. The Madam is in the Madam's Qing'an Hall. She will definitely not leave if she doesn't see her son-in-law today!"
"That's good!" Zhu Ying wasn't the type to blush when teased. She turned around and pulled Zhang Shou's reins. "Let's go straight to Qing'an Hall and dismount. Don't keep grandma and mother waiting for too long!"
Since they had already entered the Duke of Zhao's mansion, dismounting and walking would not waste much time rather than riding straight in. However, Zhu Ying made the final decision to ride straight into Qing'an Hall, and Zhang Shou could only let him do so.
When he dismounted in front of the familiar gate with hanging flowers, he turned around and saw Qiao Hu and Yang Hao being taken off the horses by Zhu Hong and Zhu Shi. He couldn't even find an excuse and could only enter the gate at Zhu Ying's urging.
Unlike the previous time when he met the Taifu without knowing anything, ever since he met Yufei, he always felt something strange when he thought of Zhu Ying's mother, who seemed to have become a nun because of what happened back then. Unlike Yufei, Zhu Ying's mother gave people the impression of being stubborn and tough.
At this time, he followed Zhu Ying into the main room, turned around the screen, and saw that Wu, who was sitting in the guest seat, had stood up. Thinking of what the two little guys said before, Wu took Aunt Liu to the Duke of Zhao's mansion early in the morning, now this situation is very obvious, it is clear that the lady invited Wu, an acquaintance from the past, to receive her daughter-in-law who came back from Zhaoming Temple.
When he turned around the long row of chairs and finally saw the two people sitting in the main seats behind the screen, he immediately saw the woman in a gray hat and black clothes, playing with a string of black Buddhist beads in her right hand.
Compared with Zhu Ying's stunning beauty that could not be looked at directly, her appearance seemed cold at first glance. When looking closely, her always straight back and slightly raised chin revealed a bit of pride and strength that was exactly the same as Zhu Ying's.
And her voice was also somewhat sonorous: "Are you Ah Shou?"
Zhang Shou calmed himself down, then stepped forward, bowed and said, "Zhang Shou greets Madam."
"Get up. Also, don't call me Madam." The black-robed woman raised her lips slightly, revealing a rare smile. "I am the ninth child in my family. After I got married, my elders and peers all called me Ninth Lady. You can call me Ninth Aunt."
Seeing Zhu Ying, who had come to Jiu Niang's side and was supporting her, blinking at him vigorously, as if urging him to agree, Zhang Shou readily said, "Yes, Jiu Niang."
Just by hearing this simple call of "Auntie Jiu", Jiu Niang immediately became cheerful, and the gloom that had just shrouded her brows completely dissipated. At this moment, her bright temperament and Zhu Ying's brightness seemed to merge into one, with no difference anymore.
Zhu Ying immediately said coquettishly: "Mom, you usually don't talk much when you see me, you are biased!"
Jiu Niang was slightly startled, then she gently patted Zhu Ying's hand: "I'm afraid that if I talk to you too much, I'll want to come back. I'm afraid that because I miss you, I'll give in to your father!"
She said the word "you" very calmly, and especially when she saw Mrs. Wu secretly wiping her tears, she unconsciously raised her voice a little.
"Your father is a man who only worries about the future. If Ah Shou was raised in our Zhu family, I would definitely treat him, Dalang, Erlang and you equally, and would never let those who slander him have a place to stand! He only cared about teaching Dalang and ignored Erlang. Why does he think that others are not as good as him in teaching children?"
"What do you mean by raising Ah Shou in the countryside, choosing a good teacher to teach him, raising him to be broad-minded and well-behaved, and then choosing between you and Mingyue to marry Ah Shou? This is simply a joke! How can you know what kind of personality a person has if he is not growing up in front of you? If this is just a perfunctory statement, then it is really insincere. If this is true, it is irresponsible to both you and Ah Shou!"
Zhang Shou only felt that Zhu Ying's previous words that mother beating father up would make them reconcile might have a reason now. This lady of Zhao's character was very similar to Zhu Ying's, and she said whatever she wanted. And the next moment, he realized this again.
"Mom, I haven't fulfilled my filial duties for so many years, and you didn't divorce me, a stubborn wife, for Yingying's father. I am very grateful to you. But I still want to say that you should have fought with Yingying's father for what happened back then!"
Faced with such an extremely stubborn daughter-in-law, the old lady couldn't help but think of the time when Jiu Niang, as her son's second wife, came into the family, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law often had small conflicts over trivial matters. However, now that sixteen years have passed, when she sees her daughter-in-law with an old temper again, she is no longer as easily angry as she was back then.
After all, it was because Jiu Niang and Concubine Yu and Widow Zhang fought together that Zhu Ying, Zhang Shou, and Princess Yongping were able to be born safely.
She sighed and said, "You are right. I made a mistake back then and didn't persuade her to the end. Fortunately, Ah Shou is not only outstanding in appearance, but also talented. He and Yingying are a perfect match made in heaven."
Zhang Shou was relieved that there was no other version of his life story, but he didn't expect the conversation to progress to the topic of a match made in heaven so quickly, and he was a little unprepared. Seeing that Wu, who had been silent just now, was full of joy, he subconsciously wanted to interrupt, but the next moment, he found that Jiu Niang's eyes were like sharp arrows, suddenly locking onto him.
"Ah Shou is indeed better than those sons of noble families in the capital. His knowledge is supervised by Grand Tutor Ge, so I have nothing to say. But, Ah Shou, I heard from your mother that you have only just learned horse riding and you know nothing about martial arts? That's not good. A real man should be good at both civil and military affairs!"
Before Jiu Niang could finish her words, Wu was startled and quickly stood up and shouted, "Madam, Ah Shou has been weak since childhood..."
"It's because I've been weak since childhood that I have to practice martial arts to strengthen my body!" Jiu Niang raised her eyebrows , but she angrily scolded Wu, "You just don't understand the truth that loving mothers often spoil their children! Last time I heard that there were rebel troops and assassins in the village? Ah Shou was not injured this time, what about the next time? If Concubine Yu and I didn't know martial arts, and Zhang...she was willing to fight, how could she have escaped?"
At this point, Jiu Niang looked at Zhang Shou, her eyes bright and bright: "Besides, Ah Shou, you don't want to be chased and beaten by Yingying when you and your spouse quarrel in the future, right?"
At that moment, Zhang Shou saw Zhu Ying's face as bright as a rosy cloud, and he finally couldn't help laughing.
He had a face that looked like a weak scholar, but he had been walking up the mountain every day in the countryside for the past three years, and he was actually not that weak. He had also practiced the self-defense skills he had learned in the past three years. Of course, he actually agreed with the suggestion, because what he knew was incomparable to the masters who were proficient .
However, could it be that this last reason for persuading the emperor to learn martial arts is a true reflection of the life of the Duke of Zhao and his wife back then?
