Chapter 103 Chapter 103 Two Chapters in One

Mrs. He only brought Mrs. Zhou Er here today. It was not because she favored her as her daughter-in-law, but because she was also Jiang's daughter and a cousin of Dou Yuan. We are all related, so bringing them here won't seem out of place.

Fortunately, Dou Yuan, the niece, gave her enough face and came out to greet her in person. Even though her husband was no longer an official and was just an ordinary country gentry, she was still treated with such courtesy. Mrs. He also held Dou Yuan's hand affectionately and talked about family matters.

Dou Yuanzheng said with a smile: "Aunt, please go to the west hall and sit down. It happens that our relatives are here too."

"Oh? Who is it?" Mrs. He asked.

Dou Yuan then said, "My sixteenth cousin from my sixth uncle's family is now serving as a magistrate in Daming Prefecture. He has just taken office. When the time comes, we will be relatives and will get to know each other better."

Mrs. He was happy again.

When several people came in, Jinniang also hurried over to meet them. It was the first time she had seen Madam He and Madam Zhou Er in more than ten years. At that time, Madam He was still the wife of a mansion official, high and mighty. Madam Chen dared not even breathe in front of her. Now she has aged a lot, looking heavy, with only a smile on her face. Then there was Madam Zhou Er who followed behind him. She was much taller and dressed very elegantly. She had a somewhat happy look on her face but also a hint of disdain in her eyes.

Jinniang didn't know why He Sanlang and Jiang Xian stopped contacting each other after their last drink, and she never heard Jiang Xian mention it again? Mother Fang knew that she had worked as a maid in the Zhou family, so she suggested that they should not have any contact with each other.

When she was getting married to Jiang Xian, Jiang was the one who interfered. She also had a disagreement with Madam Zhou Er in the past. Naturally, Jinniang had no intention of having any contact with him.

When they met now, Jinniang just treated it as a reacquaintance. After being introduced by Dou Yuan, she called her "Aunt He." She also addressed Zhou Erniang as "cousin-law."

Mrs. He saw Jinniang with her hair tied up high in her bun, wearing a emerald crown and a jade comb. She was naturally gentle, bright and dignified. She was very happy and said, "You and I are relatives. Let's sit down and talk."

After saying this, Madam He took off the bracelet on her hand and gave it to Jinniang. She then asked many questions and almost cried when she learned that the Sixth Madam had passed away. Jinniang couldn't help but admire Madam He. She was afraid that after Madam He got married, she had never met the Sixth Madam, or even met rarely, but she looked really good.

Madam Qian whom I met a few days ago and Madam He whom I met today are both people who should not be underestimated.

Jinniang had been wondering whether Zhou Erniang would recognize her and yell at her again, but she didn't expect that she would look at her as if she were a stranger, without any feeling, so Jinniang stopped thinking about it.

"Is Shiliulang's brother an official in Beijing?" Mrs. He was asking.

It is actually very rare to have two Jinshi in one family, not counting Jiang Fang who was adopted out. Moreover, the two brothers are still very young. In the officialdom, everyone knows that it is better to bully the old and not the young. Moreover, Jiang Xian is her nephew from her mother's side, so they should have a good relationship with him.

When Jinniang heard her asking about Jiang Yan, she couldn't help but say, "My uncle is now working in the Censorate."

In fact, Mrs. Zhou Er knew Jiang Xian very well. At that time, she was in a bad mood and just had an outburst on a servant, but she was sent to the Jiang family by her mother. When she was at her maternal family, she had frequent interactions with the Jiang family. She only knew that Jiang Xian's father had failed in the imperial examinations many times, so how could she think highly of him?

Nowadays, things really change rapidly. Looking at Jiang Xian's wife again, her appearance seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere, but he was sure that he had not seen her before. Look at her, she is wearing such a valuable emerald crown and a full set of brocade clothes, and her family seems to be from a scholarly family as well. .

At this time, she was saying, "My brother also passed the provincial exam last year, but he didn't pass the provincial exam this year. Fortunately, he has now entered the Imperial College."

"Do you live in Tokyo?" Mrs. Zhou Er felt that her accent did not sound like that of a Tokyo native.

This was the first sentence that Zhou Erniang said to her. Jinniang did not show it on her face, she just smiled and said, "We moved here more than ten years ago, so this is not our original place of origin."

Mrs. He was annoyed that her daughter-in-law didn't know how to talk. She only said good things when everyone carried the fancy sedan chair, so she hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "You came from Wu County. Speaking of which, you also served in Yangzhou. Jiangnan is really a good place."

"You're right. By the way, I also brought back some Su satin. I'll give you two pieces when the time comes. Don't mind." Jinniang said with a smile.

As the two were chatting, Lan, the wife of the military officer, came over and called out to Jinniang, "Sister, why are you still here? Old Madam Wang is here, and Madam Qian asked me to call you."

Jinniang smiled and said to Madam He: "Aunt, please sit down for a moment. I will go to greet the wife of the mansion first, and then come back to talk to you, aunt."

She is the wife of the magistrate, so it is only natural for her to pay a visit to Mrs. Shangguan. At that time, Mrs. He's husband was the prefect of Yangzhou, and all the officials under him flattered him, so she said, "My nephew's wife, go quickly."

Jinniang walked quickly with Lan. Madam Qian specifically asked Jinniang to sit over there, and it seemed that she had reserved a seat for her.

"Thank you, sister." Jinniang said with a smile.

I have to say that Madam Qian is a pretty good boss. It is real luck to follow the right person in the workplace. She also met with Madam Ji these days, but Madam Ji simply treated her as a follower. When compared with Madam Qian, it was obvious which choice she would make.

Besides, Madam Ji is not as powerful as Old Madam Wang. She may not even have a say in front of Old Madam Wang, so why should she be afraid of her?

Originally she wanted to remain neutral, but she found that her situation was like a tall tree with no shade, and a solitary tree cannot form a forest. Although the Zhen family is a relative of hers, if she always has to be led by the Zhen family, she will be looked down upon. It would be better for her to find a better boss and follow him first, so that she can have her own power in the future.

Don't underestimate these officials' wives. Things that are difficult for men to interact with or talk about can be done privately through them.

But Jinniang is not as loyal to Madam Qian as Lan is. She is just returning the favor.

The Zhen family invited Old Madam Wang to take the seat as a sign of respect, but Old Madam Wang said that Old Madam Zhen was the birthday girl and refused to take the seat. The two of them pushed and shoved for a while before they sat down together.

This old lady Zhen must have been a beauty when she was young. Even now she hasn't gained weight, her eyebrows and eyes are delicate, and she looks very elegant. In comparison, Madam Wang looked much more friendly, just like an ordinary old lady.

Naturally, Mrs. Wu also came with Old Madam Wang and was talking to everyone.

The two old men were talking about the opera, and the people below followed suit. People like Jinniang who didn't understand the opera very well, although it wasn't like they were listening to a foreign book, were still not interested.

Fortunately, she was only the wife of the lowest-ranking official in the palace, and no one paid attention to her.

Madam Ji sat opposite Madam Qian. She had clearly invited Jinniang last time, but she never expected that Jinniang would not accept her invitation and would still stay with Madam Qian. It really made her angry.

As they were talking, word came from outside that the Wei family had arrived. The Wei family was very prestigious. Last time, when their daughter was enrolled in their school, even though Jiang Xian was the magistrate of Daming Prefecture, he still used two levels of connections to get his daughter in.

Mrs. Wei's husband is now the Huainan Transport Commissioner, a third-rank official in the court, so when she came over, the atmosphere in the field changed again.

Mrs. Wei is thirty-seven years old this year. Her husband passed the imperial examination at the age of eighteen. Although he has been an official for twenty years, he is still only in his thirtys. She wore a pearl crown on her head. After entering the room, she hurriedly said with a smile: "Old birthday star, I am late."

Madam Zhen invited her to take a seat. With a slightly younger lady like Madam Wei taking a seat, the atmosphere changed again.

"It's rare for a person to live to be seventy, and you're still in such good health. We are all ashamed of ourselves." Mrs. Wei said with a smile.

Madam Zhen was also very experienced. She said, "You young people are not like me, who is old and has several missing teeth. As the saying goes, the blessed do not have to work hard, while the unlucky do have to work hard. Every year, your family has people from Luoyang send peonies to you. Why do you have to work hard when you enjoy your life every day? What do you think?"

This teasing made Mrs. Wei blush for the first time, and Jinniang was shocked. Why did this wealthy family love peonies so much, and love them one by one? It was a luxury. Whenever Madam Wei wanted to see peonies, she would send people directly from Luoyang to bring them.

However, she could go to the Wei family as a guest and design a dress or collar with peony patterns by herself, and then give it to the other person on his birthday. She would keep it in mind.

After everyone arrived, Madam Zhen finally reached her old age, so Madam Zhen hurriedly asked everyone to prepare the table. The first table was occupied by Madam Wei, Madam Wang, and the Hebei Road Transport Commissioner, the Pacification Commissioner, the Criminal Division, and the Grain and Oil Commissioner.

At the second table were Madam Ji, Madam Qian, Madam Jin, Madam Lan, the wife of the military officer Sihu, and so on.

The third table was for relatives and friends, such as Mrs. Zhen’s family and Mrs. He.

This banquet was spread out on both land and sea, dazzling the onlookers. It was such a rich and luxurious occasion that it was no wonder that Mrs. Dou II sent two boatloads of dowry. But after drinking a glass of wine, Jinniang calmed down again. It is human nature to be greedy for more, but who doesn't accumulate little by little? Small streams accumulate to form rivers.

As long as she and Jiang Xian worked hard, they might be able to save up a family fortune in the future. Why should they be blinded by wealth? Her eyes became much clearer.

However, Madam Zhou sat at the third table with her mother-in-law. This was all thanks to Dou Yuan. Madam He herself did not think there was anything wrong. Although she used to be the wife of the prefect, she was now a phoenix with its feathers plucked, and was no better than a chicken. She could only digest the feeling by herself. But Mrs. Zhou's eyes were filled with resentment, thinking back to when she was a child, her father was in charge of the promotions of officials, and her second uncle was also rich, so how could it not be the same? Even the ruling officials could be invited to the home.

Now, no one paid any attention to them. Even Jiang Xian's wife, who had just talked to them, sat at the second table. A seventh-rank official was treated better than them. The gap was too big, so they looked unhappy.

After the banquet, Dou Yuan helped to see the guests off and said to Jinniang, "In my family, my eldest sister-in-law doesn't take care of things, and my third brother's wife is useless. I would like to ask my sister-in-law to come and help."

Jinniang readily agreed: "This room is full of official wives, thanks to your mother-in-law who has managed it well. You are young and capable, so I will go over and help you. You will have to make the decision on the big things."

"I am very grateful to my sister-in-law for coming to help me." Dou Yuan smiled and held Jinniang's hand, very affectionately.

Dou Yuan had a good relationship with Jinniang, and they lived next door to each other, so she must have asked her for help. Mrs. Zhou Er was very unhappy when she saw this. On the way home, she said to Mrs. He, "You are her aunt, so it should be you who should be entrusted with the task. How can it be her turn?"

Madam He said, "I am already old, I don't need to worry that much."

Seeing that Madam He was so heartless, Mrs. Zhou Er just felt angry in her heart.

But Jinniang came back from the Zhen family and said to Jiang Xian, "Today they invited the official's family and close relatives, and tomorrow they will invite distant relatives and old relatives. They asked me to help, and I saw that they were too busy. We live next door to each other, and I bothered them a lot on weekdays, so I agreed."

Jiang Xian just said, "It's good as long as my wife is not tired."

Jinniang then told the story of meeting the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the He family: "How come you met and drank with that He Sanlang? It seems that his family met me for the first time today. Do you think I should send some gifts to them during the festival, so that people will not say that you have become arrogant after becoming an official? After all, we are all related."

"Madam, Madam Zhou Er is not a good person. She came back to live in our Jiang family before because she humiliated a maid. You used to work in her house. If she was a sensible person, she would naturally treat you as a sister-in-law like the second sister-in-law (Madam Zhou San). But she is not like that. I don't know how much trouble you will have to waste in the future with such a fool. You don't have to have any contact with her. If someone asks about it again, you just put the blame on me and say that I was busy and I forgot that you asked me to send the gift." Jiang Xian said.

These words made Jinniang feel at ease, and she covered her mouth and laughed again.

Jiang Xian was puzzled: "Why are you laughing, madam?"

"When you say humiliating the girl, you mean humiliating me." After saying that, she continued to tell the story of how Madam Zhou Er took her anger out on others and made her kneel down.

Jiang Xian was furious when he heard this and slammed the table: "What a shrew! I'll teach her a lesson."

"No, I got my revenge back then." Jinniang told her about how she fainted on purpose: "Although I didn't hurt her at all, all your relatives and friends know about it, so I can only deal with her this way."

Jiang Xian felt so relieved that he just opened Jinniang's legs, feeling so distressed.

But Jinniang said, "I was originally thinking about how to humiliate her when the situation changes, but when I saw her today, I am of higher status than her, I am better dressed than her, and my husband is promising, so why should I bother with her? If I really bother with her, it will be like killing a rat and damaging the jade bottle, and it will harm your reputation as an official."

Forgive others when you can. If you keep holding on to the past, it will become a demon in your heart.

But Jiang Xian refused to listen. Fortunately, Jinniang persuaded him with all her might: "As a man, you should be more open-minded. There are so many cases in Daming Prefecture, and there are often robbers. Why bother making enemies again?"

"Forget it, if she gives up now, I will forget about it later. If she talks nonsense, don't blame me." Seeing Jinniang's persuasion, Jiang Xian had no choice but to agree with her.

Jinniang was touched that Jiang Xian stood up for her like this, so she fed him wine with her sweet tongue, and the two of them became intimate again.

The next day, Jinniang came to Madam Zhen after breakfast. Madam Zhen said, "Please trouble her sister-in-law to help."

"What are you talking about? I am also a busy person with nothing to do. I would be happy if you don't mind." Jinniang said.

After that, Madam Zhen asked her to go to Dou Yuan's room. When Jinniang went there, she met Dou Yuan's husband, Zhen Erlangjun. The man hurriedly saluted, and Jinniang returned the salute before she met Dou Yuan.

All day long, Jinniang helped Dou Yuan entertain guests, lead people in conversations, and help with setting up banquets. By the time she got home in the evening, she was very tired.

But she also knew how this wealthy family invited guests. They didn't invite all of them in one day, but in batches. If they invited everyone at once, people of higher status might think it was messy and that you didn't know the rules.

After being busy for a few days, Jinniang rested at home, wrote a poem every day, imitated some and pondered on her own, and desperately flipped through books to look for allusions.

In the afternoon, Yunjie came back, looking not very well. Jinniang asked, "What's wrong with you? If you are unhappy, just tell me."

"Mom, what does 'raising by me' mean?" asked Jun Jie'er.

Jinniang said: "This is insulting, not a nice word. Where did you hear it from?"

"I heard it from Miss Ji San. She said her elder sister was raised by a young woman and she is just wishful thinking." said Sister Yun.

This is the dispute between the sisters of the Ji family. If the wives and concubines are in harmony between the legitimate and illegitimate children, it would be fine. But if the wives and concubines are not in harmony, it will be easy for them to become incompatible.

Jinniang asked again: "What is it because of?"

Sister Yun smiled and said, "I know, it's because of the male vixen Wei Qilang."

"Wei Qillang? Mrs. Wei's youngest son?" Jinniang had heard that the reason Mrs. Wei did not follow her husband to take up his post was because her youngest son was in poor health, so he stayed at home.

When I heard my daughter mention "fox spirit", I couldn't help but ask, "You little girls, do you know everything?"

The children are young, and the more people they meet outside, the more information they receive. They are no longer ignorant little kids. In the eyes of children, beautiful girls are vixens. Perhaps it is just that many people are jealous of others' good looks.

Sister Yun just smiled.

"Mom, let them all be charmed by the male vixen, so that I can study hard and definitely get first place in the exam."

She couldn't keep up with the progress before, so Jinniang and Jiang Xian took turns to help her with lessons at night. Fortunately, the child was willing to work hard and was able to catch up.

Jinniang was afraid that her daughter would fall in love too early, but now she couldn't help but smile when she heard her daughter say this: "Good girl, you have great ambitions. Don't worry about the affairs between the Ji sisters."

"My daughter knows. Mother, Madam Wei's birthday is coming soon, and Madam Shen asked us to send some needles and threads over." Sister Yun said.

Jinniang said to her daughter, "Yesterday I heard someone say that she loves peonies. I drew a picture of a peony and helped you trace it. You can embroider it according to the picture. How about we make a pair of peony-shaped purses?"

Sister Yun was very happy.

Because Jiang Xian had to stay in the yamen all night today, Jinniang sent someone to bring him some food and soup, and the three of them, mother and son, had their meal alone. At night, Jinniang let her daughter sleep in the room. Yunjie saw that her mother had designed the sachet with peony pattern. She just took the cloth, cut it down, and started to slit the thread according to the pattern.

When it comes to learning needlework, Jinniang trains her daughter very strictly, not for any other reason but because she wants her daughter to have a solid foundation in life.

Sister Yun also said that she wanted to buy an ancient zither, saying that Madam Chen would teach them to play the zither, and that she also wanted to bring spices to the school, as Madam Chen would teach them how to make incense tomorrow.

"I will talk to your father tomorrow and he will help you pick out a zither carefully, don't worry. As for the spices, I have opened the boxes and packed some, you can take them tomorrow morning." Jinniang had been a student herself, and she knew that what seemed trivial to adults were huge matters to them, so she agreed immediately, fearing that her daughter would be embarrassed when she went to school.

It is also said that the next day, Jiang Xian sent someone back to get clothes, saying that he was ordered to go to another county on official business. Jinniang then prepared two sets of clothes, shoes and socks, as well as medicine for bruises and colds for him.

But she couldn't ask him to handle the matter of Qin, and Jinniang herself didn't understand the ins and outs of it, so she had to ask Chen Xiaolang to find out first, and asked him to call Ruyan over.

After Ruyan exchanged the silver openly, she looked at several locations but none of them satisfied her. Now she had just set her eyes on a shop. When she heard Jinniang calling her, her heart tightened, for she never imagined that she was talking about Qin. She was just worrying about how to repay the other person's kindness, and then a coincidence came along and said she would help to take a look.

But within two or three days, he found a Shu County Lei family zither, which had a clear sound and ancient seal characters engraved on it.

"I wonder how much this one costs? I'll open it for you."

Ruyan only said that she was giving it to Yunjie as a gift, but Jinniang refused and said, "This zither looks expensive. If you don't want the money, I wouldn't dare to take it."

In Jinniang's opinion, as long as the piano for her child is easy to use and the price is right, it will be fine. It will not be too late to buy a famous piano for her when she really has talent. Otherwise, if he can't play the piano very well, but still wants such an expensive piano, isn't that like the stationery of a poor student?

Ruyan said, "It only cost me ten strings of cash. If you don't believe me, I'll show you the note. You saved my life, and I just gave you a zither as a token of my filial piety. If you don't want it, you must despise me."

Jinniang had no choice but to accept it, and knowing that she ran a teahouse, she gave her a few kilograms of fine tea and two sets of teacups as capital.

By the time Qin found it, Yunjie'er's sachet was almost finished, so she sent it to Madam Wei. It is said that Madam Wei liked it very much. Seeing that she was only seven or eight years old but could embroider so well, she specially rewarded her with a bracelet.

Children should be encouraged. After Yun Jieer got the disease, she often asked Jin Niang to continue teaching her how to make embroidery.

The day soon arrived at the beginning of winter. Mrs. Lan sent a note saying that the red plum blossoms at the Qian family were in full bloom and invited her to a poetry reading. Mrs. Qian also sent some fruits and vegetables, and Jinniang responded to each one.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. He also sent some fruits and vegetables. Seeing that they had been delivered to the door, Jinniang felt it was inappropriate to ask them to send them back, so she gave them some money as a reward and sent some ginger, fermented black beans, red shredded vegetables, minced pork, goose pears, and clams in return.

But if Madam He didn't send it, she wouldn't take the initiative to send it.

Mrs. He was also a shrewd person. She noticed that Jiang Xian had not come to visit her home since he took office, and Jinniang was not as polite and considerate as Dou Yuan. But that day she observed that Jinniang was not such a frivolous person, so she was puzzled.

But she is different from Jiang. Jiang likes to make trouble, but she doesn't want to make a fuss about things she can't figure out. She didn't like to get to the bottom of things, and she thought that the more confusing something was, the better it should be to just let it go.

Just like when she sent someone to the Zhou family, in order to find out the personalities of the girls in the Zhou family and find out their backgrounds, but even though she knew that her third daughter-in-law was not a good person, she would not bring up these things for the sake of the relationship between the two families.

However, Madam Zhou San learned from Master Jiang Liu that Jiang Xian was an official in Daming Prefecture. She remembered that her second sister had some old grudges with Jinniang, and was afraid that her ignorant second sister would make a fuss again. By then, she would not be able to protect her with new and old grudges. So she immediately sent a holiday gift and brought a letter to Madam Zhou Er.