Because the Jiang Family was following behind them.
The Xia Family had been traveling at a high speed, and in less than two months.
They arrived in the capital.
The soldiers sent the Xia family to the border of the capital.
They did not continue to escort them. Instead, they turned around and returned to the northwest.
Now that the situation in the north was tense, if it were not for the sake of Ningguo Province, the Marquis would not have specially sent a small group of soldiers to escort the Xia family back to the capital. This was considered abusing his power for personal gain. If he sent them back to Ningguo Province, it would be too eye-catching.
But then again,
If the situation in the north was not turbulent, Ningguo Province might not have used the Shi family's favor to escort the Xia family back. He was afraid that along the way,
If they met some blind people who thought that the Xia family was rich and came out to rob them,
Financial losses were not important,
What he was most afraid of was that they were injured. That would be a big problem.
Because the soldiers who were escorting them back,
The Jiang Family stuck to them again,
It was obvious that they were determined to follow the Xia family.
The expressions of Mr. Xia and the others did not look good, but there was nothing they could do. They had already followed them here. It was impossible to get rid of them. The group entered the capital and arrived at the gate of Ningguo Province.
"Xia Ji, go and knock on the door," Xia Fu said.
"Yes." Xia Ji handed the horse reins to the coachman beside him and went up to knock on the door.
"This is Ningguo Province? It's really grand. "The Jiang Family looked at the gate of Ningguo Province with their eyes wide open. They were all people from the north and had never been to the capital before. From the moment they entered the city gate, their eyes were dazzled. The floor in the city was made of limestone, and there was no mud on it when they walked on it. Also, there were many kinds of things sold in the city, and the patterns were even better. The Jiang Family only felt that their eyes were not enough. Now, they were in Ningguo Province. Ningguo Province was an imperial duke's mansion, and it was more luxurious than ordinary mansions. The Jiang Family wished that they could have two pairs of eyes to look at it.
"You are?" The servant guarding the gate opened the gate and asked Xia Ji.
"My surname is Xia. I'm the younger brother of the Madam," Xia Ji said.
The servant was stunned for a moment. He remembered that the Madam's maternal family lived in the north. "Sir, please wait a moment. I'll go in and report first."
"Yes," Xia Ji replied good-naturedly. After all, their family lived in the northwest. The year his sister got married, they went back to the border and never came back. It was normal that the servant in the mansion did not recognize them.
"Ah, you're already the Granduncle of the Madam, but you're still standing outside and waiting. Does Little Sister's sister-in-law have any status in the mansion?" The eldest sister-in-law of the Jiang Family looked at Xia Ji standing outside and could not help but mock him.
"If you don't know how to speak, then shut up and be a mute. If Little Sister's sister-in-law doesn't have a good life, then we'll be worse than the Xia family." The eldest brother of the Jiang Family glared at his wife. They had just arrived in the capital and were unfamiliar with the place. They could only rely on the Xia family. If they really angered them, they would no longer care about Little Sister and the two children. If they no longer cared about them, how could they survive in the capital?
The eldest sister-in-law of the Jiang Family was frightened. "I'm just saying."
Soon, Chen Er came out and saw Xia Ji. To be honest, the last time Chen Er saw Xia Ji, Xia Ji was only in his teens and had not grown up yet. Now, Xia Ji was already the father of two children. Chen Er looked at Xia Ji carefully and saw the shadow of his Madam in Xia Ji. He thought of the Old Master's instructions. The Old Master said that the Granduncle's family would come to the capital in a few days. If he was not there, he was to take good care of them.
"Uncle Laoye, right? Our family's laoye and taitai have mentioned him many times," Chen Er turned his head and said to the manservant on the side, "Go, find a few capable manservants and move the carriage in the back to the inner courtyard. Have the biddy prepare and bring the womenfolk to taitai."
"Yes." The servant quickly found a few companions and led the carriage. Looking at the womenfolk who did not sit in the carriage but walked with the carriage, he only thought that they were maidservants and older female servants. The servant sent them to the side door.
After the carriage left, Chen Er personally welcomed Xia Fu into the house. The eldest brothers of the Jiang Family naturally followed him in.
After entering, the eldest brothers of the Jiang Family couldn't help but look around. The scenery in front of them was really shocking.
Chen Er looked at the eldest brothers of the Jiang Family and thought that these servants were really bold. However, they came from the north after all, so it was normal that they didn't have so many rules. However, they would often go to Ningguo Province in the future, so they couldn't be so unruly. After the Granduncle's family settled down, he would tell the Old Master and Madam that they should arrange some capable servants for the Granduncle's family.
Obviously, Chen Er also thought that the eldest brothers of the Jiang Family were the servants of the Xia family.
After passing through the long corridor and arriving at the main hall, the Jiang Family was stopped. "This is not the place for you to rest. Follow me to the side hall. That is where the servants rest."
"Servants?" The eldest brother of the Jiang Family pointed at himself.
The servant of the Ningguo Province nodded very honestly. If they were not servants, then what were they? Could they be the masters of the Xia family? They knew that the Madam's family was very simple. There were only the Old Master, the Old Madam, and the Granduncle's family. There was no other family. These people looked older than the Granduncle, so they couldn't be the Granduncle's sons.
Xia Fu and Xia Ji, who discovered this situation, reached out to cover their mouths. They wanted to laugh. What should they do?
"I'm not Xia Ji's servant. I'm Xia Ji's elder brother-in-law," the eldest brother of the Jiang Family refused to accept this and said.
"Uh …" The servant felt a little embarrassed. The elder brother-in-law of the Granduncle was also a master.
Chen Er had also never encountered such a situation. Fortunately, as the chief butler of Ningguo Province, he was experienced and knowledgeable, so he quickly calmed down and said, "Masters, please come with me. Why aren't you serving tea for the Masters?" Chen Er chased the servant away. Although he didn't know the specific situation, it seemed that they were masters. He couldn't let outsiders know that the rules of Ningguo Province were not good.
"Yes." The servant hurriedly left.
Chen Er brought them to the main hall and said, "I've already sent someone to report to the Masters. The Masters are now working in the Ministry of Revenue and are not in the mansion. Please rest for a while, Masters." Chen Er meant that he wanted to see how Xia Lu would arrange things. The Masters had traveled all the way to the capital and were travel-worn. Madam would probably get someone to tidy up a courtyard for the Masters to stay in first. After they changed their clothes, she would make other arrangements.
"Zheng 'er's work is more important. It's fine. Chen Er, you can go do what you need to do," Xia Fu said.
"It's not a big deal. I'll accompany the Masters here and wait for Madam's arrangements," Chen Er said with a smile. Then he stood together and began to chat with Xia Fu. They talked about the current situation in the northwest, Ningguo Province, and the northwest. The Jiang Family seemed to be able to join in the conversation. However, when they talked about the situation in Ningguo Province, the Jiang Family had nothing to say.
"Mother!" When Xia Lu saw Mother Xia, he was very excited.
"Countess!" Mother Xia bowed and greeted Xia Lu.
"Mother, what are you doing? Why are you doing this?" Xia Lu quickly helped Mother Xia up.
"Yes, Da Lang, Er Lang, greet your aunt," Mother Xia said to Da Lang and Er Lang.
"Aunt!" Da Lang and Er Lang obediently bowed to Xia Lu.
"So obedient!" Xia Lu smiled and accepted their greetings. He walked over and patted the two children's heads and said, "You look very much like Xia Ji. Xia Ji was also like this when he was young. Now, he's the father of two children. If we meet again, I'm afraid I won't be able to recognize him."
"Xia Ji is also here. He's now in the outer courtyard with your father," Mother Xia said.
"Ziyuan, go and ask Mr. Wu for a day off for Yao 'er and the others. Let Yao' er go to the front. Now that they're nine years old, they should learn how to receive guests," Xia Lu said.
"That won't do. They can just wait outside. How can we delay the children's learning?" Mother Xia quickly said.
"This is also a lesson they have to learn." Xia Lu smiled. There were other people here, so it was inconvenient for her to explain too much. Xia Lu turned his gaze to the Jiang Family and asked, "These are?" Xia Lu remembered that his family was very simple. His father was an orphan and had no relatives. His mother had been married to his father for many years and stayed at the border. They had no contact with their relatives there. Although these people were travel-worn, Xia Lu, who was familiar with his family's character, knew that these people were not his family's servants.
"This is your sister-in-law and your sister-in-law's family." Mother Xia's expression was indifferent when she mentioned the family.
Looking at his mother's expression, how could Xia Lu not know that something must have happened. "Everyone, sit down first. Drink some tea and calm down." Xia Lu helped Mother Xia to sit beside her. She also asked a servant to bring a small bench for the Jiang Family and Jiang Family to sit.
"Master ordered the servants to clean up Feihua Courtyard a few days ago. I expected that you would definitely come." Xia Lu smiled. "We didn't want to come.
Your brother still has a teaching job in the northwest. The money he earns is enough for the family's expenses. Now that we're in the capital, it's still a problem whether your brother can find a job. It's not right for us to keep asking you to help us financially. However, the situation in the northwest is getting more and more turbulent. After two years of good weather, the barbarians there are beginning to make trouble again. We can only go to the capital and rely on you. "Mother Xia sighed.
"Mother, what are you talking about? I'm also your child. It's my duty to provide for you. There's no need to be so formal," Xia Lu said.
"It's good that you have such intentions. However, you're a Jia family's wife after all. How can you always provide for your family? If our son-in-law finds out, he might feel uncomfortable. Our family doesn't have any other resources to help you." Mother Xia looked at Xia Lu. She felt that she had been wronged in the Jia family. Parents were all like this. If you worked outside to save time and didn't want to cook and eat fast food, your parents would also feel that you were working too hard outside. It was the same reason that you couldn't eat well.
Xia Lu smiled. In front of outsiders, she definitely wouldn't say anything. The Jia Zhen was completely under her control. "Mother, you've been on the road for so long. Why don't you go to Feihua Garden to rest first? Husband has been transferred to the Ministry of Revenue and may not be back for a while. When he comes back, it'll probably be night time. However, he'll be on leave in a few days. When he's on leave, we'll hold a welcome banquet for you."
"Son-in-law is busy with work. There's no need to be extravagant and wasteful," Mother Xia said.
"How can it be extravagant and wasteful to give mother a welcome banquet? However, sister-in-law's family might have to wait. They didn't receive a letter beforehand, so they didn't tidy up an extra courtyard. I've already asked the servants to tidy it up. You can only move in after a while," Xia Lu said.
"We'll have to trouble you, Countess," Mother Jiang hurriedly said.
"It's no trouble at all. However, seeing that your family has more girls, I still have to remind you. Our family is basically filled with men, so please don't run around. If you bump into them, it will damage your family's reputation. Naturally, I will also restrain the men in our family. They won't casually appear near your courtyard." Xia Lu didn't care if her words were considered a show of strength. Some things had to be made clear first. She couldn't think of everyone as a bad person, but she also couldn't think of everyone as a good person.
"Yes," Mother Jiang hurriedly replied.
Wisteria arrived at the front courtyard, where Jia Yao and the others were having their lessons.
"Miss Wisteria, why have you come?" Wu Hanhai was a bit curious.
"Our madam has asked for a day off for the young masters. Madam's father and mother have come. Our master is still on duty, so we've asked the young masters to go out and entertain the guests," Wisteria said.
"Alright, wait for me to assign some homework, then you can take them away." Wu Hanhai wasn't angry that his lesson had been interrupted. Instead, he was deeply moved because of his experience. Perhaps this was the reason why a family could survive for so long. Not only did they have to teach these children knowledge, but they also had to teach them how to conduct themselves. Otherwise, they could only be like him in the past, only knowing how to study. After becoming an official, he was fooled by his subordinates. His career wasn't smooth, and he could only resign in the end to avoid bringing disaster to his family.
When they heard that Wisteria and the others were going to entertain the guests, the children were especially excited. However, when they heard that they still had to do homework to entertain the guests, their spirits dropped.
"Don't you have to entertain the guests? Write an essay on how to entertain the guests and teach it to me tomorrow, "Wu Hanhai said coldly.
"Yes." The children were stunned, but they had to do whatever the teacher told them to do. If he said that they had to do the essay tomorrow, then they had to do it tomorrow. They also had to complete the essay with quality and quantity, reaching the standard of third place in the imperial examinations.
Jia Yao and the others arrived at the front courtyard. Everyone picked up their small bodies and came to the front courtyard to entertain the guests with lofty aspirations. Although they said that they were entertaining the guests, in reality, they were just being led by Chen Er to recognize the guests. Right now, they were still too young.
As for the children coming to entertain them, Xia Fu and Xia Ji did not think that they were not good hosts at all. From the letter, they naturally knew that Xia Lu had already given birth to a child. Old people all liked grandchildren. Being able to see his grandson in advance made Xia Fu very satisfied in his heart. Now that his grandson came to entertain him, he could not be more happy.
No matter how many people there were in Ningguo Province, it was not so easy to clean up a courtyard. First, they had to check whether the roof was leaking, then they had to clean the dust in the house, then they had to wipe the furniture in the house. Some of the furniture was broken and could not be used anymore, so they had to replace it with new ones. After that, they had to spread the quilt, arrange decorations, and put some flowers in the house. Only then could people live in it. Therefore, the courtyard needed to be cleaned up in advance. Now that the Jiang Family suddenly came to clean up a courtyard, Ningguo Province was also very busy. Fortunately, the family was big and had a big business. If they lacked something, they could find it immediately.
Otherwise, they would not be able to find it. Otherwise, it would not be possible to find it. Otherwise, it would be impossible to find it. After all, there were many people in the Jiang Family, so they had to clean up a bigger courtyard. Otherwise, they would not be able to live in it. A bigger courtyard would naturally take more effort.
Xia Lu asked these people to go back and clean up first. Xia Xiaofu's mother, the Jiang Family, and the two children were still clean, but the Jiang Family's people were travel-worn. They probably did not have a chance to clean themselves up during the journey.
As soon as they went to the courtyard to clean themselves up, the Jia Zhen came back.
"Where are Father-in-law and Mother-in-law? And Brother-in-law? "The Jia Zhen came in and asked, panting.
"They have been on the road for so long that they want to rest. I will go and see them together later." Xia Lu wiped the Jia Zhen's sweat.
"Phew, Father-in-law and Mother-in-law don't blame me, right? It's really unfortunate. The Ministry of Revenue is too busy today. I wanted to ask for leave, but I couldn't get away." The Jia Zhen let Xia Lu wipe his sweat as he explained.
"I know you are busy with work, so I don't blame you. I told Mother that I will wait until you have a break to welcome them." Xia Lu was very pleased with the Jia Zhen's care. Love the house, love its crow. Only by loving you would he love your family. If your husband did not respect your family at all, it meant that he did not particularly respect you either. Of course, this was excluding those who always wanted to take their son-in-law's money to subsidize their own family, because such a family was not worthy of respect.
"Okay." The Jia Zhen nodded and said, "At the welcome banquet, I will have a few drinks with Father-in-law and Xia Ji."
"However, Xia Ji did a stupid thing this time. He actually brought his wife's family over. After all, they are already here, so I arranged for them to stay in the Feiye Courtyard," Xia Lu said.
"It's not a big deal. We can afford to support two more families. You can arrange it as you see fit. However, you have to let the women in their family be careful. Yao 'er is already nine years old and will soon be sensible. It will be bad if they clash." It had to be said that the two of them had been together for a long time. Not only did they look more and more alike, but they also had the same thoughts.
"Don't worry, I have already reminded them. But you, don't break the rules," Xia Lu said.
"You still don't know me. How can I break the rules? I will never give you the chance to cheat." Jia Zhen narrowed his eyes. He knew that he could not relax when it came to his wife. Who knows, he might be cuckolded.
"Okay, keep it up." Xia Lu put on a fake smile. This guy was really amazing. Even now, he still thought that she liked women.
In the evening, Xia Lu originally planned to call them over for dinner. However, he remembered that it was already very late when the courtyard was renovated. They still had to bathe or something, so he did not call them over for dinner. Instead, he asked the servants to send the food to their courtyard so that they could eat alone. After such a long journey, they could also rest early after dinner.
On the other side, after Xia Lu and Jia Zhen had dinner, the two of them went to the Feihua Courtyard to pay respects to Xia Fu's mother.
"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law." Jia Zhen bowed to Xia Fu's mother.
"Earl, please get up." Xia Fu and Xian Xian quickly helped Jia Zhen up.
"Please forgive me. I am very busy today and did not have time to ask for leave to entertain the two of you. It is really rude of me," Jia Zhen said respectfully.
"Business is more important. It is okay to see you later. Earl, please take a seat." Xia Fu quickly said.
Jia Zhen and Xia Lu sat down. Jia Zhen looked at Xia Ji, who was next to him. "Brother-in-law, you are already so old. The last time we parted, you were still a child. You haven't even grown up yet. Now it seems that you have matured and can be the head of the family. Looking at you carefully, you look a little like your sister. "Jia Zhen had a good impression of his wife's only younger brother. Back then, before Xia Ji left, Jia Zhen had engraved a seal for Jia Zhen. Jia Zhen still had it.
"Brother-in-law, I am already an adult. I have two sons." Xia Ji touched the back of his head. In front of his brother-in-law and sister, he felt that he was still that child.
Jia Zhen's eyes lit up. He looked at Dalang and Erlang, who were next to Xia Ji. He waved his hand and said, "Come here. Let Uncle take a look."
Dalang and Erlang looked at their father, who nodded. Then, hand in hand, they walked to Jia Zhen.
Jia Zhen bent down and put Erlang on his lap. He touched Dalang's head and said, "You look like you when you were young. You also look like my wife." Jia Zhen looked at Xia Lu again. He thought for a while and took out two jade pendants from his pocket. He said, "This was originally a piece of jade. I asked a skilled craftsman to split it into two and give it to you two brothers." Jia Zhen hung the jade pendants on Dalang and Erlang.
"Brother-in-law, you are so generous." Seeing the two pieces of jade that Jia Zhen specially took out, Xia Ji understood that this was a greeting gift from his brother-in-law to his two children. Since it was a greeting gift, he naturally had to accept it.
"It's okay. It's just two pieces of jade. It's just that the craftsmanship is exquisite. It's nothing much," Jia Zhen said casually.
Jia Zhen chatted with his father-in-law and brother-in-law. At this time, Chen Er came over.
"Old Master, Old Master, Uncle, Old Master is back. Please go over and have a seat," Chen Er said.
"Oh, Father-in-law, you can go over with Chen Er. My father hasn't seen you in a long time," Jia Zhen said.
"Okay." Xia Fu followed Chen Er out.
Jia Zhen and Xia Lu sat there for a while. Then, he remembered that he still had to see the children, so he took Xia Lu and said goodbye to Xia Ji and Mother Xia. "Your elder sister is in charge of everything in the house. If there's anything missing or if you feel uncomfortable, just tell your elder sister. Don't be too reserved." Jia Zhen patted Xia Ji's shoulder.
"I know, Brother-in-law," Xia Ji said.
"Then we will leave first. I will have a break in a few days. I will hold a welcoming dinner for you," Jia Zhen said.
"Okay." Xia Ji nodded.
After saying goodbye, Xia Lu and Jia Zhen left to let Mother Xia and Xia Ji rest.
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