Chapter 111 Resistance

Xie Xuchuan was immersed in grief and remorse, and did not leave the hospital all day.

Jiang Wansu's pregnancy was not going well, so she could only stay in her room to rest and only occasionally go to serve tea to Xie Sanniang and Hua Nanzhi.

Zitang, on the other hand, sensed something was wrong as soon as she stepped out of the courtyard today.

Today, Tiqi Courtyard was unusually unruly. Several old women were squatting or sitting in the shade, chattering away about something incomprehensible, their faces beaming with excitement.

Upon overhearing the name Cui Yulin, Zitang was so startled that she quickly hid in a corner.

She was relieved when she heard that Cui Cheng had gone to Taicang to collect the body, and that the matter had not been exposed.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard an old woman mention Jiang Wansu.

"If you ask me, young master, you're really blinded by greed. I don't know how you ended up taking a fancy to the Jiang family's daughter."

"Yes, not to mention that she had an affair with someone else's fiancé before marriage, her petty and stingy manner is just unpleasant."

“I saw that she cried every day after she married into the family, and her crying made the whole Tiqi Courtyard look rather gloomy.”

An old woman clicked her tongue: "You can't blame her entirely. Men's waistbands are so loose, they can loosen them up when a hen clucks a couple of times, let alone a young woman throwing herself into their arms."

"I don't think it's her fault; it's just that the Jiang family is a real headache."

"Her dead father doesn't treat his eldest daughter-in-law like a human being at all. If he wanted his daughter to have a better life, he wouldn't have cheated his in-laws out of their money."

"That's right. As the saying goes, it's better to have a beggar mother than an official father. If her mother had any influence at home, she wouldn't have ended up in this situation."

The old woman who had previously cursed Jiang Wansu for being unlucky shook her head and said, "It is precisely because she has such a father that she should strive even harder. She can't rely on her family, yet she still dares to seduce men, and now she has even given birth to a bastard child, making herself look bad for nothing."

"That makes sense. It's no wonder that the young master and the old lady look down on her now..."

Although Xie Xuchuan was very favored at home, he was not very affectionate towards Jiang Wansu.

Over time, the servants in the household also figured out the tricks of the trade and naturally started to flatter and belittle the weak.

Xie Qi used to be the one who was bullied at home, but now that everyone knows that Shen Yuanzhu is well-off and generous, their attitude towards her has naturally improved a lot.

However, Jiang Wansu was short of money, and most of her dowry was fictitious when she got married. Xie Xuchuan only waited for the monthly allowance from the public treasury, so he naturally had no money to give her.

Over time, the servants began to treat Jiang Wansu with less kindness, and today it was especially noticeable.

I don't know who first mentioned that she seduced Xie Xuchuan and became pregnant before marriage, which led to the change of mistress in Tiqi Courtyard.

As he spoke, he got angry with everyone.

"If it weren't for her, we would be serving the eldest daughter of the Shen family right now. Look at the food, clothing and daily necessities of that person's servants, they are no less than the second daughter of the Shen family."

"Let's not even talk about Madam Luo. Ling'er and Xiaozhi, those two girls, oh my, they're wearing gold hairpins and gold bracelets."

"If the woman inside hadn't undressed so quickly, she wouldn't have been the eldest daughter-in-law..."

Zi Tang, who was hiding in the corner, couldn't stand it any longer. She came out and shouted angrily, "You bunch of foul-mouthed bastards, how dare you gossip about the young mistress?"

"And who do you think you are? You're even insulting us."

Although these women worked for the Xie family, they were not sold into servitude to the Xie family.

However, he was just working here and wouldn't listen to Zitang's advice.

The old woman who had previously commented on the men's loose waistbands stood up and spat fiercely: "What nonsense! Don't even mention your young lady, we'd say the same about the young master too. Who told him to behave improperly and give people something to talk about?"

In this dynasty, commoners are prohibited from keeping household slaves.

Therefore, they were merely hired helpers by the Xie family. If one were to truly rank them, these law-abiding citizens were even three points more noble than the merchants.

Now, a little girl who hasn't even grown up yet is jumping out and shouting. Does she really think they're easy to mess with?

That old woman already looked down on Jiang Wansu, let alone the servants around her.

Not satisfied with her scolding, the old woman tugged at her sleeve and slapped Zitang on the head.

With a snap, the hairpin in Zitang's hair was knocked away.

"You...you've gone too far."

Although Jiang Wansu was not favored, Zitang had never suffered such a great injustice while following her in the Jiang family.

She couldn't hold back any longer and ran back into the house crying.

Having suffered such a loss, Zi Tang dared not tell Jiang Wan Su, fearing that Jiang Wan Su might harm her health in her anger, so she could only silently endure it.

Zi Tang originally thought that by swallowing her anger, the matter would be over. Little did she know that showing weakness would only embolden those shrewish women.

During dinner, Jiang Wansu frowned as she looked at the plain dishes that had no oil at all.

"Why is there only stir-fried seasonal vegetables and steamed white fish?"

She reached out, picked up a spoon, and stirred the soup in the bowl in front of her.

The soup bowl contained sea bass soup, but the preparation was rough and it had a fishy smell.

As she stirred it, a fishy smell filled the air, and Jiang Wansu couldn't help but vomit.

"Miss, are you alright?"

Zi Tang quickly stepped forward and handed Jiang Wansu some water.

After rinsing her mouth, Jiang Wansu pushed the white fish and fish soup away, annoyed, and said, "What's wrong with the people in the small kitchen? Don't they know I can't stand the smell of fish lately?"

Zi Tang lowered her head and remained silent.

In the past, the servants of Tiqi Courtyard were always adept at changing their tune depending on the wind. When Xie Xuchuan ate, the dishes were always very exquisite and varied.

But today Xie Xuchuan locked himself in his study and refused to open the door no matter who knocked. As a result, his servants lost their appetite for cooking and started to fob them off.

"I'll go make some vegetarian noodles for Miss..."

"Where are you needed? Does the Xie family lack the monthly allowance for the small kitchen? Are they letting them slack off every day?"

"Go and call the cook from the small kitchen..."

Zi Tang said, "Miss, how about we call it quits?"

She didn't want her young mistress to know that Cui Cheng had gone to Taicang to collect Cui Yulin's body.

She was afraid that the other person's body couldn't handle it.

"Miss……"

"Zitang, do you look down on me too?"

Jiang Wansu's eyes reddened: "In the entire Xie family, no one treats me as a true master. Now, does even you look down on me?"

"That's not what I meant."

Jiang Wansu slumped down and said, "I know what they think of me, but Zitang, I can't let them continue like this."

"Xie Xuchuan doesn't care about anything. If I continue to be weak, won't those servants take advantage of me?"

"I ask for nothing more than to give birth to the child in my womb safely and to live a peaceful life in the Xie family. Is that not enough?"

"Am I not even worthy of a peaceful meal now?"

Jiang Wansu felt frustrated.

She was living a miserable life in the Xie family. It was bad enough that her in-laws disliked her, but all she wanted was to find a place to settle down and to build some property for her and Yulin's child.

But now things are different. When she was in the Jiang family, she was never mistreated by the servants like this.

"Go and find the manager of the small kitchen. I want to see who has the audacity to skimp on my food."

Zi Tang glanced at Jiang Wansu's lower abdomen, then lowered her eyes in deep thought.

After a moment, she said, "This servant will go right away..."

------

Let me explain the background of this story. In this book, for example, the Xie and Chen families are merchants, which means they are commoners.

Commoners were not allowed to keep slaves or buy and sell free people; only officials of the third rank or above were allowed to do so. That's why I mentioned earlier that Cui Yulin was always described as "half a servant," since both father and son worked for the Xie family.

Some netizens have wondered why Jiang Wansu and Cui Yulin are together. In reality, there is no difference in their social class, only a difference in their wealth.

There was no class difference between Cui Yulin and Xie Xuchuan.

The wet nurse and Ling'er took care of Yuanzhu; they weren't sold into servitude, but rather worked as helpers. There was no such thing as being dragged away and beaten to death.

I also saw some comments from other viewers asking why Yuanzhu's mother didn't allow Shen's father to take more concubines. Well, the law at the time stipulated that commoners who had no children by the age of forty could take concubines, but those who were older were not allowed to.

Even officials in ancient times had strict standards for taking concubines. For example, a third-rank official could take as many concubines as he wanted, and a prince could take as many as he wanted.

However, wealthy merchants have room to maneuver when it comes to taking concubines. For example, they can buy an official position to qualify for taking a concubine, or they can do so under the guise of adopting a goddaughter, hiring a concubine, or keeping another one in another place.

There have been some comments from viewers saying that Yuanzhu gave the goods from Xiecuifang to Yunzheng, and that the female lead lost, etc.

That wasn't a struggle between Yuanzhu and Xieqi, but a contest between merchants and the Imperial Textile Commissioner. Only between these two groups was there a true class distinction.

The subsequent battle for the Jiang family's shops was the clash between Xiecui Workshop and Jixia Manor. I don't know if this explanation is easy to understand.

Many readers assumed the Xie and Chen families were from noble or aristocratic backgrounds, but that's definitely not right. Let's change our perspective!

They were businessmen, wealthy but of low social status.

This book doesn't feature any emperors, crown princes, or kings; the highest-ranking official is Yuan Xu, so don't expect any plot points like Yuan Zhu jumping up and punching Yuan Xu three times.