The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1203 - 1182: Apologizing at the Door (Extra - for the reward from the reader “Chunting”)

Chapter 1203: Chapter 1182: Apologizing at the Door (Extra Chapter for the reward from the reader “Chunting”)

When County Magistrate Fu left, he heard voices coming from the room next door, easily piercing through the thin barrier, dominated by Fu Wenhua’s loud voice.

He was complaining to Mrs. Fu, "Mother, you have no idea how detestable that old pious woman from the Yue family is. When I was leaving, she was leaning against the door, smearing our family’s good name."

Mrs. Fu’s face and neck had turned bright red with anger upon hearing from Nanny Fu and Chuncao about the dangers faced on the day of the childbirth. Hearing her son speak like this, her anger intensified, "Fortunately, your father is now of equal rank with him. Even if an outer official is slightly lesser than a capital official, we have nothing to fear!"

"Exactly, if push comes to shove, we can just bring Second Sister back home, along with the nephew. Humph, let’s see if they dare to bully Second Sister again."

"That won’t do. If Second Sister returns to Jianzhou, it would be her who loses face. We need to resolve this matter in the capital. Otherwise, I would rather rent a house in the capital and look after your sister for a year or two. I refuse to believe they could bear not seeing their grandchild."

"Right, and I’ll challenge Yue Lan every day. Three times a day I’ll beat him to see if he dares to bully my sister again."

Mrs. Fu said, "Just be careful not to be too harsh when you hit him, lest your sister ends up worrying later."

"I know, I’ll cause pain, not injury."

County Magistrate Fu, who was listening outside the door, felt even more pain in his chest. He hadn’t minded these words before, but after hearing his daughter’s, it made him feel he had fathered his children wrongly.

How nice it would have been if his daughter and son had been switched.

County Magistrate Fu left, massaging his chest.

After Mrs. Fu and her son had finished condemning the Yue family, she turned to Nanny Fu, "We really owe Young Lady Zhou this time. Has Second Sister sent a generous gift in return?"

"No," Nanny Fu bowed her head, "Miss hasn’t even paid the doctor’s fee."

Mrs. Fu realized upon hearing this that her daughter held Zhou Man in high regard, or rather, that their friendship was so deep that money could not measure it. She sighed and said, "Then let it be. She can settle her own account later, but from our side, we must prepare a generous gift to send."

Nanny Fu smiled and said, "Madam, why worry about this? When we were in Jianzhou, she used to get letters from her twice a month, even closer than the visits with Granduncle’s family. I think Miss Man is not someone who cares about such formalities."

Looking at the child who had already fallen asleep, Mrs. Fu gently placed the baby into the cradle and said, "Even if she doesn’t care, propriety should not be neglected. Your lord father and I cannot stay in the capital for too long. In the future, Second Lady won’t have much support in the capital, and it’s good to have close friends for mutual assistance."

Fu Wenhua snorted and said, "Mother, didn’t you used to dislike Sister’s friendship with Zhou Man? Every time she wrote, you weren’t happy."

Mrs. Fu tapped him and said, "Times change. Understand? Back then, I worried she might lead your Second Sister astray. Look at your sister, she used to be so well-behaved and obedient. After befriending her, she stopped practicing the zither, and stopped learning needlework and cooking. All she did was read books all day long, and always wanted to go out and play with you. Because of a sentence in her letter about a uniquely beautiful view from atop a tree, your sister went and pulled over a ladder to climb it..."

As Mrs. Fu spoke of these things now, her feelings were complex.

Originally, both her daughters were well-behaved, with only her son being a bit mischievous. She needed to spend just a little effort, but because of Zhou Man, her Second Daughter changed completely.

Once her daughter stopped being obedient, she had to divide her attention to guide her daughter more, yet before she could improve, her daughter’s influence led her son to become even more mischievous.

Mrs. Fu became busier, and this was why she had never really liked Zhou Man; she felt that half of her subsequent hardships were Zhou Man’s fault.

But now, with her daughter alone in the capital, devoid of relatives and with a harsh family-in-law, a friend, especially a capable one, had become very important.

Even if they couldn’t help, just talking occasionally would make her daughter feel better.

Therefore, Mrs. Fu wanted to mend the relationship between the two families. She said to Nanny Fu, "Prepare more gifts, those local specialties we brought from Jianzhou, we don’t need to save them for the Yue Family. Take some to strengthen ties with Granduncle, and give the rest to her."

Mrs. Fu still felt somewhat relieved and smiled, "Fortunately, she doesn’t know that I dislike her. When the child is one month old, we can still invite her over for the full moon celebration feast."

Fu Wenhua, on the side, kept his head down and said nothing.

Seeing this, Mrs. Fu paused, couldn’t help but fall silent, and after a long while asked, "Wen Hua, have you said any nonsense to Young Lady Zhou since you entered the capital?"

Fu Wenhua wanted to shake his head, but couldn’t under his mother’s gaze.

Mrs. Fu held back for a moment but ultimately couldn’t help herself. She grabbed his ear and slapped him several times before turning away with tears in her eyes to find County Magistrate Fu. She felt too wronged—why did she give birth to such a disobedient son?

County Magistrate Fu had already returned to his room to consider how to persuade Yue Wei the next day, when Mrs. Fu, with tears in her eyes, entered his room, causing him a bit of a headache.

Right, he also had to resolve his daughter’s issue. He couldn’t let the devout old lady from the Yue Family trample on his daughter as if she weren’t human.

Even though the incident had passed and he had been counseled by Fu Wenyun, County Magistrate Fu was still furious when he thought about it.

The Yue Family heard about their arrival in the capital less than two hours later; after all, their servants had been waiting outside.

Yesterday, Yue Lan had personally come to pick up Fu Wenyun but couldn’t even enter the door.

Lord Yue had even thought of going to pick her up himself, but he was clever enough to know that even if he went to get his daughter-in-law at this time, it would be in vain. Even if Fu Wenhua, out of respect for his status, would invite him inside, he would surely find various excuses to refuse to go home.

It was clear that this was not something that a few children could resolve. They could only wait for the relatives to arrive in the capital, and then he would personally apologize.

Fu Wenyun had thought that Yue Wei would only visit the next day, but instead, he came with his wife and children directly from the yamen, bringing gifts with him.

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Fu made a trip to his daughter’s room first and said to her, "Your father-in-law has more courage than you think."

Fu Wenyun thought for a moment before replying, "Father, this is good, isn’t it?"

County Magistrate Fu shook his head; it wasn’t necessarily a good thing since he wasn’t sure that Yue Wei would be persuaded.

Nevertheless, he still went with his wife and children to welcome the guests in the front hall.

Upon meeting, Yue Wei immediately stepped forward quickly, and before he could get close, he bowed deeply, "Brother Ziliang, Wei has let you down with your entrusted task."

County Magistrate Fu hastily stepped forward to grasp his hand and help him up, with a sorrowful expression he said, "Lord Yue, you’re too modest, please refrain from such gestures."

Seeing that he was not angry, Yue Wei was momentarily unsure of his intentions and could only turn around to pull his foolish son forward, kicking him behind the knee to make him kneel, "Aren’t you going to kneel and apologize to your father-in-law and mother-in-law? Is this how you treat your wife?"

Yue Lan, with a swollen and bruised face, knelt down. County Magistrate Fu stared at him for a long time before finally sighing and saying, "Enough, let him get up. Let’s go inside and talk."

Yue Wei let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly entered the room with County Magistrate Fu.