Chapter 575 The Jin Family Returns to Beijing
In the capital, outside the Rongguo Mansion's hanging flower gate, Mei'er and Xin'er accompanied Yuanyang. Behind Yuanyang, two elderly women stood with their hands hanging down. Behind them, Amber and Boli followed with a group of young maids.
These two maids were the ones Jia Cong had hired from the Shi family to look after the old lady. Although the other masters were unable to come, the old lady had sent these two maids to accompany Yuanyang to greet them. This wasn't because there were other distinguished guests arriving today, but rather because Yuanyang's parents had returned from Jiangnan. The old lady had specifically sent these two to honor Nanny Jin.
Originally, after Yuanyang came to the house, the old lady wanted to ask Yuanyang's parents to come back. After all, Yuanyang now has a noble title and has her own dignity. If she continued to separate her parents, she was afraid that her grandson and Yuanyang would have resentment in their hearts.
But last year, first there was the funeral of the old empress dowager, which lasted for half a year, then there was the royal arranged marriage, and then Jia Cong sent troops south, which really delayed everything.
I had planned to have my parents come over before the Lunar New Year to celebrate, but they were delayed for over a month due to heavy snow, and they only arrived just now.
Yuanyang's parents were just servants, but they had a good daughter and a good son-in-law! Not only did their daughter serve the Marquis of Guanjun, but she was also awarded an imperial decree by the royal family. How honorable was that?
Therefore, when the two elders returned, not only were they accompanied by a large number of carriages and small vehicles from the Jiangnan Jia Mansion, but Jia Yucun also happened to have sent a team of officials to the capital on official business. So, early that morning, someone had announced that the carriages were about to enter the city and would arrive soon.
When Yuanyang got the news, he was happy, but he did not dare to lose his composure.
Immediately, he went to the West Mansion to report the news to the old lady. The old lady then asked the old nanny beside her to bring the maid and follow Yuanyang to the Chuihua Gate to wait.
I don’t know how long I waited, but finally, Lin Zhixiao’s wife led a few maids and surrounded Nanny Jin and walked out of the hall.
Ever since he followed the old lady to the capital, although they occasionally communicated, he had never seen his parents again. How could Yuanyang not be excited at this moment?
She immediately went up to him crying.
"mother!"
Nanny Jin's face was also filled with joy and emotion, tears welling up in her eyes. However, she was tactful and first supported Yuanyang and bowed down in respect.
"Meet the Madam!"
"Mom, what are you doing!" Yuanyang hurriedly helped Nanny Jin up.
Nanny Jin then stood up and said as she looked at her daughter, "Now you are not only the concubine of the Marquis of Guanjun, but also hold the status of an imperial decree. Naturally, I cannot confuse the order of priority and respect."
In this era, this was the norm, and the higher the family's social status, the more it was enforced. Just like in the original novel, when Yuanchun returned home to visit her parents, her mother, father, and grandmother all knelt to greet her. This was state etiquette, and only after bowing first and entering the inner hall could they slightly extend their respects before discussing family etiquette. Nanny Jin was a clever woman; Yuanyang was her flesh and blood, and she bowed to her daughter, firstly out of courtesy and secondly to preserve her daughter's dignity.
"Where's Daddy?" Yuanyang naturally knew these rules, so he didn't say much.
Lin Zhixiao's wife on the side hurriedly smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry. My family is outside chatting with Brother Jin. Your brother and sister-in-law are also in the front and are all taken care of."
Yuanyang nodded and finally felt relieved.
"Old sister, do you still remember us two?" Behind Yuanyang, two old maids came forward and greeted her.
Nanny Jin looked at them carefully for a moment, then said in surprise, "It's you two! How did you end up in this house?"
One of the old maids laughed and said, "The Marquis was worried that the old lady would be bored with her daily life, so he granted us a favor and let us two come to the mansion to serve her."
"Good, good, good!" Nanny Jin laughed and said, "I never thought that after half a lifetime of separation, we would meet again."
Afterwards, Amber and her group came forward to pay their respects.
"Let's go to the inner hall first. The old lady has been looking forward to your coming." said the old nanny.
Amber led the way in front, Yuanyang took the old mother's arm and went forward into the hanging flower gate, accompanied by two old maids on both sides, and Lin Zhixiao's wife and the others followed behind.
After passing through the hall, I saw Li Wan and Wang Xifeng waiting outside the hall from afar.
Nanny Jin left her daughter behind, hurried forward two steps, and prostrated herself on the ground, kowtowed, and said, "This servant greets the two grandmothers."
The two of them hurried forward to help her up. Wang Xifeng said with a smile, "Mammy, it's been ages since we last met in the south."
"How are you, grandmas?"
"It's great that our family is becoming more prosperous now," Li Wan agreed.
"Let's go in and meet the old lady first!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Grandmothers!" Following behind the two, Nanny Jin felt her strength grow a bit. She was just a servant, her honor, disgrace, life and death all in the hands of her master. But now, she, a servant, arrived, the Nanny beside the old lady came out to greet her, and the masters of the clan were waiting outside the hall. How honorable was this? Even if she died at this moment, she could still smile in her grave.
However, she also knew that all her dignity was given by her daughter, or rather, by the marquis.
In the hall, the old lady sat on a high couch, with Lady Xing, Youshi, Mu Ning, Xiu Yan and Ke Qing sitting on her left and right.
"Old lady, look quickly, who has arrived!" Wang Xifeng entered the hall first. After Nanny Jin came in, she took a quick look and then fell to the ground in tears.
"Old lady! I greet you!" She bowed and cried loudly.
The old lady's eyes were also filled with tears. She stood up and said, "Quick, help her up!"
Li Wan and the other two supported her for a long time before Nanny Jin stopped crying and stood up.
However, she then bowed again and saluted Madam Xing several times, "This servant greets the eldest lady and the ladies! This servant has not seen the old lady for a long time. I am sorry for being rude. Please forgive me, my master."
Madam Xing nodded slightly, and Mu Ning and the others did not dare to accept the full greeting and stood up.
After being helped up again, Nanny Jin came forward. The two looked at each other for a long time. Nanny Jin said, "I am happy to see you again, especially since you are still so strong. Even if I close my eyes now, I will have no regrets."
"We haven't seen each other for many years, and you're already this old! You've been in the south for many years, supporting the family single-handedly. Now that you're old, we sisters should get together. Yuanyang is serving my grandson now, so you can come and enjoy the good life and let the younger ones serve you for a few years."
"I am not a servant of such status that I dare not trouble my master. Now that I am back, I will serve the old lady. Now that my hands and feet are still nimble, I can still serve the old lady. This is my greatest blessing."
