Full House Spring

Chapter 112 Daily Life of the New Bride
I didn't feel anything when Kuang Chengrui was here, but as soon as he left, I suddenly felt the place was much quieter.

Shi Mi walked lightly to Xia Li's side, frowned slightly and said:
"Girl, I saw that when the master left, his face looked very ugly. He must be reluctant to leave you."

Xia Li lowered her eyelashes, pulled the corner of her lip, and whispered:
"You don't have to comfort me. I can live my life as usual with him or without him. I have been mentally prepared since I agreed to this marriage. As long as he can return safely, nothing else matters."

Shi Mi smiled and nodded, "Master's heart and eyes are all about you. I will definitely return safely. It's getting late. Do you want to go to bed?"

Xia Li still couldn't figure out Kuang Chengrui's thoughts, and it was too early to say that his heart and eyes were full of her. But she didn't need to talk too deeply with Shi Mi. She yawned, turned around and walked towards the bed.

After a good night's sleep, with no one to disturb her, Xia Li slept particularly soundly. In the morning, Du Ruo and Bai Guo helped her wash and dress. When Shi Mi was combing her hair, Qiao He came in with some snacks.

She said in a brisk voice, "Young lady, please eat a few bites first. You will have to pay your respects to the eldest lady later. You may not know when you can have breakfast."

After that, she picked up the snack and put it into Xia Li's mouth, saying mysteriously:
"Miss, something happened in the west courtyard last night. I heard the noise late at night and couldn't help but run over to see. I saw the Second Madam carrying a bowl of medicine into the room, and then I heard someone screaming. Then the Second Master's concubine ran out of the room with disheveled hair, and was pulled back by the Second Master by her hair. I saw it clearly. There was a lot of blood on her underwear. Do you think she had a miscarriage?"

Xia Li's breathing stagnated, and he murmured, "This little Cui is my second aunt's niece after all, but she is willing to kill her. Has this matter alarmed the old master?"

Qiao He shook her head and lowered her voice, "Our courtyard is a little far away, so it's normal that you didn't hear anything. Someone from the East Courtyard went over to check, and I think the old man must have heard it, but he just pretended not to know."

Xia Li originally thought that the baby in Xiao Cui's belly could survive for a while longer, but he didn't expect them to act so quickly. Xia Li said in a deep voice:

"Since neither the old man nor the mother-in-law has intervened, we don't need to ask too much. Don't let this matter spread."

People always have to pay the price for their ignorance. The birth of this child of Mrs. Cui is not necessarily a blessing.

After Xia Li had packed up, she went to pay her respects to Yu. There was no need for her to visit the old man every day, but she couldn't be careless with Yu. As soon as Xia Li entered the east courtyard, Yu came to greet him from afar.

She had dark circles under her eyes, and it was obvious that she did not sleep well last night. Yu held Xia Li's hand and said with guilt in her eyes:
"My dear daughter, I am so sorry for you. We just got married and Chengrui was called back to the garrison. I don't know when he will come back. Don't be sad. When he comes back, I will definitely scold him."

Xia Li tilted his head to look at her, his eyes moving, and said with a smile: "Mother, there is no need to be like this. My husband did not intentionally abandon me. He has his difficulties, and I can understand."

Yu's eyes turned red, she held her hand tightly, and said in a choked voice:
"You are so sensible. It is a blessing for my son. Chengdong left with his elder brother last night. If there is any danger, the two brothers can take care of each other."

Xia Li nodded slightly, helped Yu sit down, and waited for Yu to calm down before asking, "Is Grandfather okay? Does he know everything about last night?"

Yu looked into her eyes and said in a tone as light as a sigh, "The concierge told the old man early in the morning, and he also sent someone to tell me. I felt uneasy, so I took Yu Ru to find the old man and asked him the reason."

Xia Li knew the old man's background. Although he had retired, he still had information channels at the garrison. It was normal for him to know something. She did not rush Yu and waited for her to organize her words slowly.

Yu hesitated for a while and whispered, "It's fine if we know about this among ourselves, but you mustn't tell anyone else. I heard that our merchant ship was hijacked by the Dongyi people, and the cargo on that ship is very valuable, so we called them back to rescue it."

Xia Li lowered her eyes slightly and said, "My husband told me that the Dongyi people are ready to make trouble. I'm afraid they are deliberately provoking trouble this time. This war will start sooner or later."

Yu said worriedly, "Every time the two brothers go to the battlefield, I am so worried that I can't sleep. I don't know when this will end."

Xia Li advised softly: "They have their own ambitions. We can't help them much. All we can do is to make sure they don't have to worry when they go to the battlefield to fight."

Yu nodded and said sincerely, "You are right. We must be strong. The old man told me that if Chengrui is not here on the day of your return, let the fourth son go with you. Although he is young, he is mature and steady. With him accompanying us, we can rest assured."

Xia Li did not refuse. Having her brother-in-law accompany her was a sign that her in-laws valued her. She appreciated the kindness. After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had breakfast, Xia Li returned to her own yard. She had nothing to do, so she simply sorted out the account books and took care of the household first.

Although the old man bought a group of servants, he did not put them in order, and the rules at home were still loose. Since Xia Li holds the power of the family, she will not let things go. After all, if she wants to live comfortably, she has to be more attentive in the early stage.

Xia Li took the servants back to the backyard. Before she could even sit down on the stool, she heard a commotion outside. Holding the account book in her hand, she frowned slightly, stood up and walked out. As she stood under the eaves of the corridor, she saw Cui Yingying rushing towards her with messy hair and untidy clothes.

Her lips were bloodless, and she opened her mouth and cried, "Grandma, save me! My aunt is so cruel, not only did she give me abortion pills to abort the baby in my belly, she also wanted to kick me out of the house. Please help me!"

Cui Yingying was not too stupid. She knew that the old man hated her and that Yu from the East Courtyard was too lazy to pay attention to her. Only the eldest lady who had just entered the family and had the power to run the household might intervene, so she ran over when she found the opportunity.

At this moment, Cui had not yet caught up. Cui Yingying knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Xia Li without fear of pain. Shi Mi glanced at Xia Li and said in a deep voice:
"Why does Miss Cui have to embarrass our grandmother? The affairs of the West Courtyard are decided by the Second Madam, and if that doesn't work, there is still the Old Master. Our grandmother is just a junior, how can she be qualified to make decisions for you?"

Cui Yingying said in a tearful voice, "Grandma, please understand. I am not deliberately making things difficult for you. The old master has spoken, and you are the mistress of the house. If you don't ask about the affairs of the inner house, who else can make the decision for me? After all, I am a concubine who has passed the imperial court and has not committed any serious mistakes. How can you just throw me away?"

Xia Li did not rush to speak. She looked up at Cui who was hurriedly coming over with the support of Kuang Yulin. Her face was livid. She suppressed her anger and said in a stiff tone:

"We have made a fool of ourselves. Yingying secretly got pregnant without telling us, which broke the rules of the mansion. It is for her own good to abort the baby. I don't want to abandon her. I just want to send her back to her parents' home and take good care of her younger brother. It won't be too late to bring her back when she recovers."

Cui Yingying bit her lower lip tightly, her eyes showing an uncontrollable anger. Her body trembled slightly, and she said angrily:

"Stop being so hypocritical here. If you really want to take care of my brother, just give him money. He is not an ignorant child. You are just worried that I will delay my cousin and prevent him from marrying a wife of prominent family. My cousin is just a scholar, but you want to compare him with me and ask him to marry into a rich family. You really overestimate your own abilities."

Cui's most important person was Kuang Chengming. She placed all her hopes on him and would not allow anyone to slander him. She gritted her teeth and said, "You unruly fool, I took you in with good intentions, but not only are you not grateful, you even bite us back. You are simply heartless."

Cui Yingying had been forced into a corner, and she retorted without scruples:

"Your original purpose for bringing me into your house was not simple. If you really have forgotten, I can help you recall it."

Cui's expression changed slightly, then she regained her composure. She raised a cold smile and said sinisterly:

"I think you are out of your mind. After I send you back, I will find a doctor for you and he will definitely treat you well."

Cui Yingying couldn't help but feel cold in her heart. She knelt down to Xia Li's side, pulled her clothes, and said with tears in her voice: "Grandma, you are kind and merciful, please make the decision for me."

Cui's brows were solemn, and her tone was stern as she said, "The eldest madam is very busy, so she doesn't have the time to care about your trivial matters. Why don't you let go and follow me back to the west courtyard? Aunt Qiu, pull her up..."

Mrs. Qiu was one of the first servants sold to the Kuang family. She was cunning and cunning, and she loved to hang out with Mrs. Cui, so she was the one who listened to her the most.

Cui had spoken, and she immediately rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward. Xia Li lowered her face and said indifferently, "Come here, stop this ignorant old woman and give her twenty strokes of the cane!"

As soon as these words came out, the servants in the backyard rushed out immediately and effortlessly knocked the old woman Qiu to the ground. She pressed her cheek against the ground and cried out in embarrassment: "Second Madam, help me! I'm going to be beaten to death~"

Cui stepped forward in panic, her face grim as she said, "What do you mean, niece? Aunt Qiu was following my orders, she didn't do anything wrong."

Xia Li said lightly: "Second Aunt, you must have forgotten whose territory you are standing on. You act so arrogantly in my courtyard without asking for my opinion? This is a bit too arrogant."

Cui quickly regained her senses. She pretended to be calm and said, "I was indeed impulsive in this matter. I was also mad at this useless thing. Please give me some face and spare Aunt Qiu this time. I will take Yingying back to the West Courtyard and I will deal with it myself."

Xia Li looked at Cui Yingying with a very intimidating look. She subconsciously let go of her hand. Xia Li sat directly on the armchair brought out by the servants and said in a steady voice:
"Second Aunt, you are wrong. If this matter had not come to me, you could have dealt with it behind closed doors, but Grandfather has handed over the reins of the family to me. If I turn a deaf ear to it, I would be derelict in my duty as the head of the family. After all, the Second Branch has not yet separated. What do you think?"

Cui tightly grasped the handkerchief in her hand and gritted her teeth as she spoke each word: "Then what do you want to do?"

Xia Li was in a relaxed manner, and said in a normal tone, "Although my Kuang family is not a noble family, we can afford to support a concubine. If she doesn't know the rules, we should just teach her well. How can we send her back to her parents' home?"

Cui was not convinced and said, "There are still people who get divorced after getting married. She is just a concubine, so why not?"

Xia Li smiled and said, "If it was a concubine bought from outside, I could get rid of her, but Xiao Cui is your niece. If this gets out, aren't you afraid of being criticized?"

Cui had her own agenda, so she couldn't just confront him, so she could only swallow her anger and say, "If that's the case, then I won't chase her away. As her mother-in-law, I can take her back and give her a few words of advice, right?"

Xia Li leaned forward slightly, smiling, and said, "Of course it's OK, but she just had a miscarriage, so why should Second Aunt be so anxious? I'll send someone to ask the doctor to take care of her body. When she recovers, it won't be too late for you to reprimand her. We can't let outsiders say that our Kuang family is not doing things right, right? What do you think?"

Cui's body was shaking with anger. Kuang Yulin, who was accompanying her, didn't dare to breathe. Seeing her mother being humiliated, she didn't feel angry, but the look she gave Xia Li was particularly hot.

She vaguely felt that a real housewife should have this kind of courage and momentum, and what her mother had taught her were just some useless fake tricks.

If Cui knew what her daughter was thinking, she would be even more angry. She suppressed her anger and said in a deep voice:

"Thank you, niece, for thinking of this useless girl. I'll wait until she recovers. Why don't you come back with me?"

Cui Yingying seemed to have found a backer and was reluctant to leave for a while. Xia Li glanced at her and she immediately stood up and bowed, then walked towards Cui. Just as the people from the west courtyard were about to leave the courtyard, Xia Li said slowly:
"Mrs. Cui, after you recover, remember to come and learn the rules from the nanny next to me every day!"

Cui Yingying heard these words like heavenly music, and she said happily: "I obey your orders, thank you for your teachings, Grandma."

Cui's face turned pale and she could not say anything, so she could only leave in anger.

As soon as the people from the West Courtyard left, Kuang Yuru suddenly appeared from nowhere. She looked at Xia Li with sparkling eyes and said with a smile:
"Sister-in-law, you were really amazing just now. I have never seen Second Aunt be so embarrassed."

Xia Li stretched out his hand and pinched her fair cheek, and said in a light voice:

"That's because I'm confident and she can't do anything to me. When I'm in charge of the household, you can learn from me. It will be useful in the future."

Kuang Yuru was a wise but foolish woman, she was not really stupid, she nodded hurriedly and said: "It would be great if sister-in-law is willing to teach me, as long as you don't think I'm stupid."

Xia Li tapped her nose and said angrily, "If you are stupid, then there are no truly smart girls in this world. Don't underestimate yourself."

Yu only taught her to be tolerant and humble, but her sister-in-law was different. She hoped to be a grandmother like her sister-in-law. She looked up and said in confusion:
"Then Cui Yingying had her eyes on my brother, so why did my sister-in-law support her?"

Xia Li hummed and said with a smile: "The people in the West Courtyard can't hurt anyone, but they are disgusting enough. Keeping Cui Yingying and letting them fight among themselves can also reduce trouble."

(End of this chapter)