Bondage

Jiang Xingjian pursed his lips tightly, not answering Song Lan'an's words.

The Hou's mansion can't stand the slightest bit of wind and rain now, and Song Wan can't leave at this time.

And in his private heart, Jiang Xingjian was also reluctant to part with Song Wan.

He lowered his voice and said: "Hou's mansion is in a difficult situation, and the grandmother at home is ill. It is not good for Wan'er to leave home at this time for her and Song's mansion."

"Father's intentions are simple and clear, and he will treat Wan'er with more care in the future, so that this kind of situation will never happen again."

Putting the teacup by his hand, Song Lan'an just sat quietly without saying a word.

Mrs. Song was introduced to Lan Courtyard by servants of the Hou Mansion. Song Wan got the news early and changed into the clothes of the guest, and waited aside.

As soon as she entered the hospital, Mother Song held Song Wan's hand affectionately: "My son, I haven't seen you lose weight for a long time."

Song Wan smiled softly: "The mother loves the child so much that she felt that the child has lost weight. A few days ago, Hengzhi also said that the old clothes were half an inch tighter. It seems that the Hou's mansion is leisurely, and the child has gained a little weight."

The mother and daughter are very affectionate, and they feel very close at the first sight.

Song's mother asked her personal servant girl to take the reward money to the Hou's wife, and Song Wan also said a few heartfelt words.The mother-in-law was so happy that there was nothing wrong with it, she sang and said with a smile that the two of them were deeply in love with each other, so she was reluctant to leave.

Welcoming Song's mother into the Lan courtyard, Song Wan sent Vanilla and Green Bamboo to the small kitchen to prepare refreshments.

There were no servants from the Hou family in the house, Song Wan and Mrs. Song became indifferent, one sat on the embroidered pier drinking tea quietly, and the other sat on the side looking at the scenery outside the window.

After a long time, Mrs. Song said: "When your father came today, he took your marriage certificate from the study."

Song Wan tightened his hand under the table, thought for a while and said: "This summer is very hot, Wan'er remembers that our house has a Zhuangzi in the outskirts of the city, although it is not big, it is quite exquisite, and it is facing the river."

"There are mountains and rivers next to the Zhuangzi. I think it's a good place to escape the summer heat, and I have a future, so I don't need to worry about it at home."

Mrs. Song lowered her eyes: "There is indeed such a Zhuangzi, but that place is not a few steps away from the capital city. Even if there is a river, where can it be cool? And the place is tight and the surrounding villages are crowded, so it is not safe after all. , not to mention the spaciousness and comfort of the Marquis' Mansion."

"Mother is right."

Song Wan curled his lips slightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Mrs. Song sighed: "The two younger sisters in your family are also old now, and they are about to start seeing each other. It's good for Song Yao to say that if he has a gentle temper and finds a scholar or scholar, he will be a good match."

"It's Song Nian who is a headache. He has read a few books since he was a child and has a straight temper. It would be fine if he was born as a man... It's impossible for a woman to develop such a temper."

"The younger sisters are naturally beautiful, honest and kind, and the marriage will not be difficult. Mother can rest assured."

Mrs. Song said with a smile: "Wan'er is still able to comfort people."

After a short pause, Mrs. Song said again: "Your sisters belong to daughters' family after all. This marriage is still easy to talk about. What the master is worried about now is our uncle's marriage."

"A few days ago, the uncle went to the official department against the master's wishes, and the father and son had a lot of trouble because of this. You also know your father's temperament. He will not tolerate such things that are in the way of the house."

"But the uncle has a stubborn temper. The father and son have not spoken for a long time, and I don't know how to persuade them."

"Don't blame the master for being angry. I don't know what's wrong with the master. If the Imperial College is a good supervisor, he will go to the official department to be a low-level official. He is called around all day, but he is the same as a waiter. There's no difference between the two."

"I don't know why Fu'er suffers so much, it just humiliates his abilities."

Song Wan had a pale face and didn't answer a word.

Mrs. Song sighed: "Some time ago, your father valued the granddaughter of Mr. Shang Chongshang's family. He said that the girl got the true biography of Mr. Shang. He wanted to tell the uncle about this marriage, but the other party heard that the uncle is now in the Ministry of officials. Deputy envoy, I didn’t mention this matter again.”

Song Wan squeezed the veil tightly, her eyelids drooping slightly.

"But if it doesn't work, it won't work. The merchant girl has a serious illness, and her aunt, who has never married, is raised in the mansion. This is not a good thing in terms of family status or family fortune. The aristocratic family values ​​this."

"In the past few years, the marriages of the merchant's heirs have indeed not gone well."

Xiangcao brought some refreshments, and Hengzhi poured tea for the two of them.Mrs. Song took a sip, her words filled with regret: "However, I can't blame her for this matter. She has a serious illness and she doesn't want to be like this. If there is a choice for women in this world, how many of them are willing to drag their father, brother and sister at home?"

"Mother is absolutely right."

Mrs. Song spent two pieces of tea, smiled and praised, and said, "Do you like the Zhuangzi you mentioned earlier? If you really like it, I will send someone to send you the title deed tomorrow."

"I just thought of it suddenly, but I don't really like it."

Mrs. Song nodded: "I still have a Zhuangzi with a lot of land in my hand. It was originally my dowry. If you want to see the scenery, you don't want to go there. The location is far away near Yancheng."

Song Wan laughed lightly when he heard the words: "Wan'er hasn't seen mother for a long time, how can he ask for mother's things when he meets? The two younger sisters are afraid that they don't have such a good Zhuangzi, how can I, as an older sister, compete with my younger sisters? "

"Those two girls are no match for you."

"Mother is humble. You have raised your younger sisters very well. No one in Shangjing knows."

Mrs. Song smiled slightly, and said a few more words, then she got up and said that Song's father was still waiting outside, and asked Song Wanyuan if she would like to see her.

Song Wan nodded, and followed Mrs. Song to the mansion garden.

Over there, I went to pass it on to others, and after waiting for a while, Song Lan'an and Jiang Xingjian appeared.

Song Wan bowed to his father in a restrained and decent manner, and asked about his daily diet and daily life in detail. Song Lan'an also answered them one by one, with a kind tone.

After talking for a while, Song Lan'an said, "There are some rumors outside..."

Song Wan covered her lips and smiled lightly: "When did father start to listen to rumors from outside? It's all nonsense. It's Wan'er not being filial to make father worry about these things."

"That's good."

Song Lan'an told the two of them a few more words, so that they could give birth to an heir as soon as possible, and let Jiang Xingjian pay more attention to the affairs of the court, and then left with his wife.

Seeing Song Lan'an's back walking out of the hanging flower gate, Song Wan's nose suddenly felt sour.

Jiang Xingjian didn't like being around, and said in a low voice, "Isn't that right..."

"I saw that Aunt Lin was quite frightened that day. Has your husband been seen by the imperial doctor in the past few days?"

Jiang Xingjian pursed his lips: "I've seen it, it's not good."

"Perhaps that imperial doctor is not good at this. I'll go back to my room and write a post to see if I can ask Mr. Xu to come over to check Aunt Lin's pulse."

The two were standing in front of the garden talking, and the aura came in a hurry.

"This servant has seen Master Hou and grandma..."

"The old lady is looking for two masters, and I want you two to go to Fuhetang as soon as possible."

Jiang Xingjian frowned: "But what's wrong?"

Lingyun lowered her voice and said in a deep voice, "Old lady...not very well."