Chapter 637: Late Sixth Month [Thanks! Bow again! 41k chapters owed]

It was afternoon,

And it was after the cloudy sky and rain had stopped,

It was much brighter outside than inside the house,

The light from outside shone into the building, making Chai Zhengzheng, who was sitting in front of the window wearing summer clothes, look even fairer.

On the wall more than a zhang away from Chai Zhengzheng hung a hanging painting,

Under the hanging painting was a dark brown side table faintly containing vermilion spots,

In the center of the side table was a solemn-looking incense burner with extremely exquisite carvings on the furnace body,

Faint green smoke drifted out of the incense burner, and the green smoke floated, passing over the precious porcelain vase with fresh flowers inserted at one end of the side table.

The rain had stopped,

The summer cicadas that didn't chirp much when it was raining just now were now singing in harmony with the frog calls around the residence, which made the beautiful scenery in Chai Zhengzheng's eyes and the atmosphere of summer even more intense.

Suddenly,

Chai Zhengzheng frowned,

And the speed at which she fanned the round fan in her hand also became much faster.

"Miss Yun Mu."

Chai Zhengzheng called out softly.

"Da Niangzi, what is it?"

Miss Yun Mu responded while walking around the screen toward Chai Zhengzheng.

"I just heard a mosquito buzzing." Chai Zhengzheng frowned.

Miss Yun Mu, who came to Chai Zhengzheng's side, hurriedly waved her hand around Chai Zhengzheng and said, "Da Niangzi, it's evening, and it's after the rain, which is exactly when mosquitoes come out."

"The light gauze on the window has been removed, and although the incense for repelling insects is lit, some mosquitoes and insects will eventually fly in."

"If you want to continue watching the scenery, shall this servant move the incense burner closer to you?"

Chai Zhengzheng nodded, "That's fine."

"Hey! Da Niangzi, wait a moment."

Saying this, Miss Yun Mu turned and left, brought a small table and placed it near Chai Zhengzheng, and then put the incense burner on it.

When Miss Yun Mu was doing these things, Chai Zhengzheng was not watching the scenery, but was looking at Miss Yun Mu's figure in a daze.

After finishing, Miss Yun Mu looked at Chai Zhengzheng in the chair and smiled, "Da Niangzi, is there still a mosquito buzzing?"

Chai Zhengzheng shook her head gently.

Miss Yun Mu, who was as meticulous as a hair, looked at the sad look in her young lady's eyes, hurriedly took a step forward, and said softly, "Da Niangzi, what is wrong with you?"

Chai Zhengzheng squeezed out a smile and said, "It's nothing, just remembering some old things."

Miss Yun Mu thought for a moment and said softly, "Da Niangzi, are you thinking about what happened before?"

Chai Zhengzheng took a deep breath and nodded.

It seemed that cloudy days always made people sentimental. Looking at the scenery outside the window, Chai Zhengzheng said softly, "In the blink of an eye, it has actually been three years since you came to my side."

Miss Yun Mu beside her looked out following Chai Zhengzheng's line of sight and echoed, "Da Niangzi is right, time passes really fast."

After speaking, the room became quiet.

Amidst the cicadas and frog calls outside, the sound of someone stepping on a wooden ladder to go upstairs came from behind the screen.

"Da Niangzi, Sister Miss Yun Mu, Madam sent someone to call."

Said Ziteng, who was going upstairs.

Looking at the sky outside, Chai Zhengzheng stood up and said, "Let's go, let's go back."

After going downstairs,

Getting into the carriage at the gate of the courtyard,

After Chai Zhengzheng left the residence in the carriage, the group drove toward the Chai family.

Returning home,

Chai Zhengzheng took her maid to Madam Chai's courtyard.

"Da Niangzi is here."

Amidst the maid's announcement, Chai Zhengzheng passed through the curtain and entered the main house.

"Mother, Sister-in-law."

Chai Zhengzheng looked at the two women in the room and bowed with a smile.

Subsequently, Chai Zhengzheng's gaze shifted between the two people sitting.

Looking at the smiling Madam Chai and the somewhat shy eldest sister-in-law, Chai Zhengzheng thought for a moment and said, "Mother, what's wrong with sister-in-law? Could it be that there is going to be a happy event in our family?"

Madam Chai smiled and pointed at Chai Zhengzheng, "Your eyes are quite sharp."

Chai Zhengzheng was overjoyed, walked to the side of her sister-in-law Lu Shi, squatted down and smiled, "Sister-in-law, am I going to have a nephew?"

Lu Shi nodded somewhat embarrassedly.

Chai Zhengzheng raised her head and glanced at Madam Chai, "Mother, eldest brother has been married for several months, looking at him... that saying is not that effective!"

Madam Chai shook her head helplessly, glared at Chai Zhengzheng and said, "At your age, what do you know! I heard from Madam Wu that there are countless people in the capital who have been married for many years and still have no children!"

"Your sister-in-law got pregnant in a few months, that's a happy event, how did it become not very effective when it came to you?"

Chai Zhengzheng pursed her lips, her eyes turned and she said, "I heard from the Rong family young lady that her sister-in-law got pregnant really fast."

Madam Chai waved her hand, "Go, go, go, sit back! You girl! This is the first time I've heard of comparing this!"

Chai Zhengzheng smiled at Lu Shi, "Sister-in-law, starting today, I will prepare gifts for the one in your belly."

Saying this, Chai Zhengzheng stood up and sat back in the chair.

Lu Shi smiled, "Sister, why so early?"

After the daughter-in-law and daughter finished speaking, Madam Chai smiled and said, "By the way, today the Daoist priest from Shenbao Temple outside the city came to visit our family and asked if we want to go burn the first incense in the latter part of the month."

Chai Zhengzheng asked with a smile, "Mother, what did you and sister-in-law say?"

"Naturally we are going! We must pray for the gods to bless you all." Madam Chai said, patting her daughter-in-law's hand.

"Oh!" After Chai Zhengzheng nodded, she took the drink with a suitable temperature handed over by the maid and drank two mouthfuls.

While drinking, there was still a thoughtful look in her eyes.

Madam Chai pursed her lips slightly and said, "I asked Madam Wu, on the day of the Shenbao Temple god's birthday, the Xu family..."

Chai Zhengzheng, who was drinking, looked up, and after exchanging a glance with Madam Chai, hurriedly looked at her own teacup again.

"Madam Sun of the Xu family is far along in her pregnancy, so naturally she can't go."

Chai Zhengzheng nodded gently and said, "Mother, what about the two madams of the Xu family?"

"Hmm, they are going."

After Chai Zhengzheng raised her eyebrows, her bright eyes turned twice.

"But, Madam Wu said that the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family has had some things happen on those two days in previous years, so this year, like before, he is not going either."

"Oh," Chai Zhengzheng nodded, "Whether he goes or not has nothing to do with daughter! Mother, why are you saying this."

Saying this, Chai Zhengzheng looked at her sister-in-law Lu Shi with some embarrassment.

Meeting Lu Shi's smiling eyes, Chai Zhengzheng didn't even know where to put her eyes.

"Oh my, did I talk too much?"

"Hmm."

Chai Zhengzheng nodded.

Later in the evening,

The master of the Chai family and Chai Zhengzheng's two elder brothers returned home.

Summer days are long, and the weather is changeable,

When the Chai family finished dinner, the sky in the west actually turned from cloudy to sunny.

After the clouds dissipated, a ray of sunlight even sprinkled into the city of Bianjing.

Taking advantage of the bright sky,

The Chai family took a walk in the garden to digest their food.

While walking, the master of the Chai family and Chai Bo walked at the very front, in the middle were Chai Jin and his wife, and Madam Chai and Chai Zhengzheng walked at the very back, holding hands.

Looking at Chai Jin and his daughter-in-law walking in the sunset ahead, Madam Chai whispered, "I heard from Miss Yun Mu that you were thinking about what happened before again today?"

Chai Zhengzheng pursed her lips and nodded, "Hmm, the style and color of the maid's clothes are similar. Today when Miss Yun Mu moved the incense burner, her appearance was somewhat similar to Qingxue, so daughter was distracted for a while."

"Some thoughts also flashed through my mind."

Looking at Madam Chai's questioning eyes, Chai Zhengzheng smiled, "Mother, it was just some wild thoughts."

Madam Chai patted Chai Zhengzheng's hand gently and whispered, "Zhengzheng, are you thinking about what would happen if the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family didn't go to Jinyang Mountain?"

Chai Zhengzheng nodded.

Madam Chai shook her head and said earnestly, "Thinking too much about those things is of no benefit! Since things have passed, we should look forward."

"Daughter knows."

In the blink of an eye,

It was the latter part of the sixth month.

The twenty-fourth day was the birthday of the Shenbao Temple god.

Outside Shenbao Temple in the west of the city, it was as lively as every year.

But these had nothing to do with Xu Zaijing.

He went to the Sheng family early this morning and only returned to the Hou Fu of Yongyi after a day of school.

There weren't many Sheng family members today either; Zaihang, Changfeng, and the three Lans all asked for leave to go out of the city to play.

Only the four of them, including Xu Zaijing, were in the school.

When Xu Zaijing returned to the Hou Fu of Yongyi,

Seeing the carriage parked by the racecourse, he knew that Xie Shi, Hualan, Zaihang, and the others had already returned to the mansion.

After playing with his mount for a while, Xu Zaijing went to the backyard.

"Fifth Young Master is here."

Amidst the maid's announcement, Xu Zaijing, who had changed into new clothes after bathing, lowered his head and entered the hall.

"Mother, eldest sister-in-law..."

When Xu Zaijing bowed to his mother and brother and sister-in-law, he saw his eldest nephew, Xingdai, happily holding a long silk bag and walking toward him.

Walking while saying, "Little Uncle, Little Uncle, this is a gift from a sister-aunt for you."

Hearing this, Xu Zaijing looked at Zaihang and the others with some curiosity.

"What is this?"

While speaking, Xu Zaijing smiled, squatted down, and took the silk bag from his nephew's hand.

Xie Shi, who was sitting to the side holding her daughter, had a helpless smile on her face and said, "Little Wu, it was today outside Shenbao Temple, when we were wandering around for fun, we happened to meet Madam Chai's family."

"When the two families were talking, Dai-ge'er and Da Niangzi Zhengzheng didn't know how they started chatting."

"As a result, Dai-ge'er..." Xie Shi pointed at her son in the air with hatred and said, "Da Niangzi Zhengzheng was just being polite, but he actually asked for a toy."

"Asking him why he wanted this thing, this brat wouldn't open his mouth no matter what, it's really infuriating!"

Xu Zaijing looked at his eldest nephew and asked with a kind smile, "Oh? Dai-ge'er, what toy did you want?"

Xu Xingdai gave a shy "hehe" smile, "Little Uncle, I didn't want anything... it's the same as the one in your hand, just smaller."

Xu Zaijing also opened the long silk bag at this time and pulled out the thing inside.

It was a "slingshot" that looked very similar to a strong bow.

The difference between a slingshot and a bow and arrow was that a leather pouch for holding pellets was added to the bowstring, and what was fired was not a feathered arrow, but metal, stone, or mud pellets.

Legend has it that the weapon used by the Shenbao Temple god, also known as Erlang Shen, was this kind of slingshot.

Therefore, today being the birthday of the Shenbao Temple god, there were naturally many stalls selling such things outside the temple.

While Xu Zaijing was looking at the thing in his hand, Xu Xingdai also ran excitedly to Sun Shi's side, took out a much smaller slingshot from the Arhat chair, and said, "Little Uncle, this is the toy that Aunt Chai gave me."

Saying this, he pointed to the slingshot in Xu Zaijing's hand and said, "Aunt Chai's family's mother also said that yours, Little Uncle, is an extra gift for mine. Is this thing very powerful?"

Xu Zaijing looked at the slingshot in his hand, which was extremely well-made, with an extremely exquisite leather pouch on the bowstring and an oily and smooth bow arm, and he knew at a glance that the bow arm was very powerful, and smiled, "As long as you hit the target, the power is not to be underestimated! Dai-ge'er, then Little Uncle must thank you first."

Xu Xingdai raised his head and chest proudly, "Little Uncle, you gave me so many toys, this will be considered as your nephew returning the favor."

Xu Zaijing shook his head with a smile and looked at his elder brother Zaihang with some suspicion.

Zaihang, who understood Xu Zaijing's meaning, shook his head with a smile, "Our family didn't want this thing at first, but when we were leaving, the mother beside Madam Chai sent it personally."

"It was hard to refuse the kindness of the Chai family's mother, and Dai-ge'er liked it so much that he wouldn't let go, so we couldn't refuse and brought it back."

Looking at Xu Xingdai who was holding the slingshot tightly in front of him, Xu Zaijing continued to squat, touched his nephew's little head with a smile, and said, "Dai-ge'er, how did you think of wanting this thing?"

Xu Xingdai rubbed his head against Xu Zaijing's palm with some embarrassment, smiled at Xu Zaijing, looked down at the thing in his hand, and said, "Little Uncle, before Father went to the army, he told me two things about this thing..."

Hearing this,

The smile on Xu Zaijing's face paused. Looking at his nephew holding the slingshot in front of him, his heart ached, and he immediately reached out and held his nephew in his arms.

His eldest brother, Xu Zaiduan, was the heir to the Marquis of Yongyi, and as the eldest son of the family, he was in the military, so he naturally saw little of his son, Xu Xingdai.

Xu Xingdai was already six years old and had already begun to miss his father.

The expressions of the others in the hall also changed.

Zaihang, who was sitting in the chair, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists with a very self-reproachful expression.

Hualan, who was holding her son, hurriedly reached out to cover Zaihang's hand, and the look in her eyes as she looked at her eldest nephew was also full of heartache.

Xie Shi took a deep breath, suppressed the soreness in her nose and the warmth in her eyes, and said, "Dai'er, you... why didn't you tell Mother when you were outside the city?"

Hearing this,

Xu Xingdai twisted in Xu Zaijing's arms, looked at Xie Shi with some embarrassment, and said, "Mother, before Father went to the army, he told me that Mother still has to look after Little Sister, so let me be more sensible."

"I wanted this slingshot, which was a bit insensible, so I didn't dare to say it."

Xu Zaijing also took a deep breath, smiled and picked up Xu Xingdai, touched his head, and said, "Good eldest nephew! Do you know how to play with this slingshot?"

Xu Xingdai shook his head.

Xu Zaijing smiled, "Then Little Uncle will teach you."

"Hmm." Xu Xingdai nodded heavily with a smile.

Watching the uncle and nephew go out of the hall, Xie Shi's tears flowed out at once.

Hualan hurriedly handed her son to Zaihang and sat beside Xie Shi to comfort her.

Xie Shi wiped her tears with a handkerchief, looked at Sun Shi and was about to speak, but Sun Shi waved her hand, "Don't say any more, eldest daughter-in-law, these days I haven't been able to look after Dai'er very well either."

Saying this, Sun Shi looked at Zaihang, who was very self-reproachful on the side, and said, "Zhang Zhang Sanlang, don't blame yourself either! You were the same when you were young."

Zaihang shook his head, "Mother, it is precisely because of this that I feel even more sorry. When Dai-ge'er was holding this thing tightly, I should have thought of this."

Sun Shi took a deep breath, stroked her big belly, and said, "If you can think of it today, that is a good thing, just pay more attention in the future."

Hualan, who was on the side, held her sister-in-law Xie Shi's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, don't cry, later when Dai-ge'er comes back, if he sees you crying, he might blame himself again."

"Yes, yes, Hualan, what you said is right." Xie Shi hurriedly took a deep breath to organize her mood.

After her mood eased for a while, listening to Xu Xingdai's laughter outside the hall, Xie Shi looked at her mother-in-law and said, "Mother, thanks to Dai'er always being close to Little Wu, otherwise I don't know how long it would take for this daughter-in-law to notice Dai'er's thoughts."

Sun Shi nodded with a smile.

East of the Imperial City,

Chai family,

Qiusheng Garden,

In the main house,

It was easy to sweat when it was hot outside, so as soon as Chai Zhengzheng returned home, she took a bath and prepared to change into new clothes.

When the maid Miss Yun Mu used a dry towel to help Chai Zhengzheng wipe her hair,

"Madam is here."

The announcement of the little maid outside the door came.

Looking at Madam Chai who entered the room, Chai Zhengzheng smiled, "Mother, why are you here?"

Madam Chai looked at Chai Zhengzheng somewhat helplessly and said, "Just now a mother said that when the Xu family returned to the city, you gave the Xu family a gift?"

Chai Zhengzheng nodded, "Yes, Mother."

Madam Chai looked at her daughter with some blame, "Zhengzheng, you... there are many people outside Shenbao Temple, aren't you afraid of implicating your reputation by doing this!"

"Mother, that's why daughter asked the mother beside you to send it," Chai Zhengzheng smiled.

Madam Chai shook her head, "The Zhang Zhang Sanlang and the two madams of the Xu family all declined and said they didn't want it, but you still insisted on sending it..."

Chai Zhengzheng sighed with some feeling and said, "Mother, will you listen to daughter? Daughter insisted on sending it because Little Dai-ge'er said..."

After listening to Chai Zhengzheng's words, Madam Chai sighed with great emotion, and then said affirmatively, "Zhengzheng, you did the right thing in this matter!"

Saying this, not knowing what she thought of, a smile appeared on the corner of Madam Chai's mouth, and she said wistfully, "If the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family knew about this..."

"Whether he knows or not has nothing to do with daughter doing this!" Chai Zhengzheng pursed her lips.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 638 =====