Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Two Chapters in One

Seeing sweat suddenly appear on Jiang Xian's forehead, she quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his face: "What's wrong? Are you scared?"

Although my husband is young, he is mature and reliable. Especially, he could almost complete anything Jinniang asked him to do, so she never treated him as a brother but as a husband.

Why am I sweating now that I heard I’m pregnant?

"No, I just feel it's a little fast. Madam, let's go see a doctor." Jiang Xian was a little at a loss.

Jinniang smiled and said, "You ordered such a large table of dishes. If we leave without eating, it would be a waste. Even if you are pregnant, you will not become a porcelain doll."

Jiang Xian couldn't eat anymore. He only wanted to take Jinniang to see a doctor. Not to mention how they would get back and how to ask the doctor, it was confirmed that Jinniang was indeed two and a half months pregnant.

Servants such as Luo Mama, Xiqiu, Minzhi and others came in to congratulate them, and Jinniang asked Aying to give them a reward. Mrs. Fang, who was beside Mrs. Jiang Liu, brought over a statue of Guanyin and a pair of jade bracelets.

Mother Fang said, "This jade bracelet was brought as a dowry by Madam when she got married. Madam said it's not very valuable, but it's a token of her love."

"Mother Fang, I will go to thank my mother in person." Jinniang knew that if there was no Sixth Madam, there would be no marriage between her and Jiang Xian, so she divided her property in advance.

Mother Fang waved her hands quickly: "Madam, just take a good rest. Madam said that she is afraid that if you pass the disease, it will be bad. I am not being polite to you. If you pass the disease, Madam will have to get up again, which is not good."

Jinniang then nodded: "If that's the case, I'll go over to pay my respects later."

As soon as Fang's mother left, Xu came over in person and told her a lot of do's and don'ts. She also told her that she couldn't be bumpy and shouldn't go to the store again in the future. She also said that she couldn't use scissors during pregnancy. Jinniang just smiled and nodded.

Seeing her leave, Ah Ying complained, "She talked a lot but didn't deliver anything."

"Forget it, be careful not to be heard by others." Jinniang made a "hush" sound.

Ah Ying helped Jin Niang put away her jewelry and said, "Madam, your jasmine dress looks really nice today. Even though you are wearing a veil, many people still look at you."

"It's a pity that you can't wear such a skirt when you are pregnant. There are too many straps. It would be bad if you trip over it." Jinniang felt sorry.

As the two were talking, they heard that Jiang Yan's wife, Mrs. Peng, had arrived. Mrs. Peng had been childless for many years, but she was a very considerate person. She specially sent bird's nest today. Some of the heads of various families sent gifts, of course some did not, and Jinniang wrote them down one by one.

At night, Jiang Xian entered the room, looked at Jinniang's belly, and moved toward the outside in awe.

To be honest, Jiang Xian always felt that he and his wife were not close enough. Now that they had a child, his mother even asked him to sleep in the study so that they could not sleep in the same room. He said that the study was too small and the couch was uncomfortable to sleep on, so he tried to sleep with his wife.

Speaking of which, he still felt a little aggrieved, and seeing Jinniang in a daze, he immediately asked with concern: "Madam, what are you thinking about? If there is anything difficult, just tell me."

Jinniang glanced at him and said with some frustration: "My skirt is so beautiful today, but it's a pity that I can't wear it. I'm afraid I'll trip over it. Also, everyone seems to have agreed that I should rest at home, but I still have to go to the shop tomorrow."

This is what she is most worried about. She is pregnant now. Actually, the pregnancy reaction is not serious, but she cannot abandon the embroidery shop. Both Zhu Xiu Niang and A Ying are unable to handle it on their own.

Whether she can continue to work while pregnant is what worries Jinniang the most. She has not thought about anything else.

Because she had no idea that she would be pregnant so soon. She had lost her hair due to weight loss, had insufficient qi and blood, and often sat for long periods of time, but somehow she got pregnant.

Jiang Xian looked at Jinniang very suspiciously. In his opinion, shouldn't a woman value her children the most? Even having a son makes me a completely different person. Some people even spent a lot of money to have children. Why did his mother have a high status in the family and was often invited to be the lucky woman? It was because she gave birth to three sons and a daughter.

"Madam, do you still want to go to the store? But the doctor said it's best to take good care of yourself in the first three months." Jiang Xian said.

Jinniang smiled and said, "It's nothing. My reaction is not that big. If I had to protect the fetus, I would definitely stay at home. I mostly sit or lie down in the embroidery shop, and I don't need to do any heavy work."

"But the road will be bumpy." This is what Jiang Xian is most worried about.

Jinniang compromised and said, "How about this, I'll go over every two or three days, okay?"

"This..." Jiang Xian was also worried.

Jinniang begged him for the first time: "Shiliulang, my business has just opened for a short time. Although Zhu Xiuniang is not bad, her craftsmanship cannot compare with mine. I also set the price. Can you help me?"

Seeing Jinniang begging him, Jiang Xian hurriedly said, "What are you talking about? If you have anything to say, just tell me directly. Madam has always been considerate of me, and I want to do the same. Madam's troubles are my troubles, and I will solve them for you."

Hearing Jiang Xian say this, Jinniang knew that she had not made a mistake in choosing him. Since she was still a maid in the Zhou family, she had seen that Jiang Xian, who was only twelve years old at the time, could resolve a dispute without making a fuss, and now he could directly say that he would help her resolve it. This was the husband she wanted.

"My dear, you don't have to worry too much about me. My exam results will be released next month, so you should study hard." Jinniang stroked his face.

Jiang Xian smiled and said, "Then you should take a rest quickly. I will go read a book."

Jinniang had no choice but to close her eyes quickly. Jiang Xian waited until she fell asleep before sitting at the desk to read. When Jinniang woke up, it was already daybreak. She heard Ah Ying coming over and chattering, "Liu Dou'er just came over and said that her husband asked Old Luo to drive the family's carriage to take you there, and asked Mother Luo to decorate the carriage."

Jinniang was delighted: "Does this mean I can go to the embroidery shop right away?"

"That's right. I heard that Sixth Madam disagreed. It was my husband who said that you were making clothes for an important man. Sixth Madam even summoned me to ask. I told her what my husband said, and then Sixth Madam told me to serve you carefully." Aying said with a smile.

She breathed a sigh of relief that Jinniang was not allowed to show up during the whole process.

Manager Luo drove the carriage very steadily, much steadier than Chen Xiaolang, and the carriage was also very comfortable to sit in. She even arrived at the embroidery shop earlier than before.

Today, Xi Qiu also came along, and the two of them protected Jinniang as if she were a porcelain vase.

It is also said that Zhu Xiuniang and Ju Xiang knew that Jinniang was pregnant, and the two of them congratulated her again. The morning was uneventful, but at noon Jinniang's parents came back and they asked about her well-being again.

Luo Yu'e couldn't help but say, "Jinniang, how about your father and I buy you some longans?"

"No, no, I heard from the doctor that eating too much longan can cause getting a sore throat. If a pregnant woman has fetal heat, she will easily suffer from abdominal pain and miscarriage. Don't worry about my food. I can just tell Juxiang what I want to eat." Jinniang said with a smile.

Luo Yu'e looked at her daughter's belly. Although she was not pregnant yet, it was a good thing. No matter how capable a woman is, if she doesn't have offspring, all the money she earns will belong to others. Not having a son will make her easily bullied. Her daughter has big breasts and a big butt, so she is destined to give birth to a son. But she dare not say these words out loud because her daughter will definitely scold her.

When they were eating on weekdays, if she moved the meat dishes in front of her son, her daughter would be unhappy.

After lunch, she slept for an hour upstairs. Just as the afternoon arrived, a customer came to the store. It turned out to be Madam Gao who had been coming to the store to look at the clothes. She liked the jasmine gauze dress very much, but she was short of money. After all, it cost fifty strings of cash, which was not something that ordinary people could afford, so she often hesitated.

"I came here specially to buy it today." said Mrs. Gao.

Jinniang couldn't help but say, "But this gauze dress has been bought by a merchant from Wuxing. If I make another one, it will cost a lot to make a whole set. I originally made one for myself, but I only wore it once yesterday. But I got pregnant. If you want it, I can sell it to you forty-eight strings of cash."

Madam Gao agreed immediately, fearing that it would be bought by someone else again, so she paid a deposit right away and agreed to have it delivered directly to her house the next day.

Jinniang felt a little sad that she had to sell the clothes she loved so much, but there was nothing she could do.

The days are long in summer. When Jinniang came back in the afternoon, it was bright and she also met the third aunt of the Xu family. Aunt Xu San has two sons. She became a widow last year, but she loves to dress up. She wears several rings on her hands and looks very wealthy.

Xi Qiu was a family-born child and knew the Xu family's situation very well. She had also visited the embroidery shop and saw that although the shop was not busy, it seemed to be making quite a lot of money. The lady gave her eighty cents as a reward yesterday because she was pregnant. She had already decided that she belonged to the lady and would tell her everything she knew.

"My wife, that Xu Sanjin is not a human being. She loves to spend money, is lazy and greedy, and is also a wicked mother-in-law who drove away two of her daughters-in-law."

Jinniang was surprised and asked, "Really? Isn't the Xu family a family of scholars?"

Xi Qiu smiled and said, "Fifth Master is the only good one in the Xu family. Eighth Young Master treats Fifth Master like his own brother and teaches him well. He stays at our house for a few months every autumn and winter."

"Oh." Jinniang doesn't usually care about household affairs. For her, it is more important to make money.

After entering the room, Luo Mama heard them talking about the Xu family. She was Jiang Xian's wet nurse, so she became even more loyal. She said to Jin Niang, "The Xu family has two successful candidates in the imperial examinations. Our Madam was attracted by them back then. Besides, Madam Xu has many brothers and sisters. She will definitely give birth to several sons in the future. But there has been no movement since she gave birth to Xuan Ge'er. She has become more and more rude recently. What do you feed us servants?"

Jinniang couldn't help but say, "Mother, you are Shiliu Lang's wet nurse, and he will definitely take care of you in the future. I pay for your food, and although I do some small business, I won't let you go hungry. He is a man, and he needs to study. If you have any problems in the future, just tell me."

After that, she asked Aying to give two cents of silver to Luo Mama. Luo Mama couldn't refuse it, so she took it. She liked Jinniang even more.

Jinniang is like this. She likes to unite the people around her, so that if everyone works together, there is nothing to be afraid of.

When Jiang Xian came back, Jinniang told him, "I thought that Mother Luo was your wet nurse, and Uncle Luo sent me there, so I gave them some money for food."

"Madam, I didn't even know this." Jiang Xian held his forehead with his hand.

Jinniang smiled and said, "You are a scholar, so you don't have the time to care about these trivial matters. Besides, my sister-in-law is frugal. We, the masters, eat like this, let alone the servants."

"Thank you, my lady, for planning everything for me." Jiang Xian really thought that getting married was a good thing.

Jinniang shook her head: "Husband and wife should be considerate of each other. I will help you make up for what you can't think of, and you help me make up for what I can't think of."

After that, Jinniang talked about the study room again: "I want to divide the study room into three parts. The one at the entrance will be set up as a tea room. The walls will be covered with white paper and calligraphy and paintings will be hung. You can receive guests and invite people to dinner on weekdays. The middle part is like what I said last time. The walls will be covered with brown paper, and bean green mica paper will be pasted in the middle. A bookshelf will be used as a partition, and then a desk and four treasures of the study will be placed. For the last room, we will open a window next to it and put a desk. You can write and draw on the desk. Behind the desk, put a couch, a table, and a vase. When you are tired, you can take a rest in the breeze."

"The walls are already built. Wouldn't it cost more money to add windows?" Jiang Xian took a look at the alleys designed by Jinniang. Any additional items would cost money.

Jinniang smiled and said, "Oh, if we want to do it, we should do it right away. Otherwise, it will be troublesome to change it when we move in after everything is done."

Of course Jiang Xian knew that it was not easy for Jinniang to do business. She earned money from her embroidery shop stitch by stitch, but she never complained. She was really courageous and open-minded.

So, he said, "I will listen to you, my lady."

After Jinniang finished her business, she chatted with him for a while and then went to bed. There was no other way. If she didn't sleep, Jiang Xian would stay with her all the time, which would delay her studies.

The best thing that happened to Jinniang after getting married was that she stopped the bad habit of staying up late.

At this time, Mrs. Xu was doing needlework in front of the oil lamp. Her husband was still in the study and would not come back so soon. She asked the doctor who treated her mother-in-law today, and the doctor said that her mother-in-law's illness was already serious and would only last for a year or so.

She certainly didn't want her mother-in-law to die so soon. Her husband was also going to die in August, and this time he was very sure of it. That was why she couldn't hold back and swallowed her anger.

At the same time, she didn't want Jinniang to have a miscarriage or something happen to her at this time. If her mother-in-law died of extreme joy or sorrow, it would also affect her husband.

It was a pity that Wei didn't listen to him at all. She was still staggering after she got pregnant.

"You can see that she is really obsessed with money." Mrs. Xu said to Mother Ge.

Mother Ge was also sewing the soles of shoes: "Who says it's not true? Sixteenth Young Master often has banquets, drinks and makes friends, and changes into a set of brocade clothes, which is bound to cost money. Wei Shi still has to open the box to get the money. As a merchant's daughter, she has to curry favor with Sixteenth Young Master."

Mrs. Xu curled her lips and said, "You have a point. In fact, it is not difficult for Shiliu Lang to find a man from a wealthy family with his qualifications. I remember there was a Huaixi Transport Commissioner, who was a third-rank official. He wanted to marry his daughter to him. But the mother-in-law was afraid that her youngest son would be wronged, so she refused."

Jiang Xian has good looks, good conversation, and is also well-educated. It would be a blessing from his ancestors that he would marry a concubine's daughter, but his mother-in-law refused.

He said that among the next generation of sons, none of them was good at studying, and such a noble lady would definitely dominate Jiang Xian. He also said that concubines' daughters were mostly very competitive, and if his son married her, it would be like marrying into the family. When Jiang Xian becomes successful in the future, he will still have to take care of a bunch of burdens in his wife's family, like a dead weight.

Mrs. Ge heard this and said, "She is really worried about her children. Wei has no family background and only has a younger brother. She can make money. She has no burden. On the contrary, because she married into a wealthy family, she has to curry favor with Shiliu Lang. Otherwise, she wouldn't be taking care of business while pregnant."

"Yes, even if he is abandoned in the future, what can the Wei family do? As long as Shiliulang passes the imperial examination, there will be many noble ladies willing to marry him even if he has a child." Thinking of this, Xu put down the needle and thread in her hands, and secretly sighed that her mother-in-law was thinking far-reachingly.

However, she still had to slowly implement her plan: "Mother Ge, send some things to Seventh Aunt's place for me tomorrow, and persuade them to come back and live here. Those slightly better houses outside cost ten strings of cash, which is not a small amount. Besides, they are all family, so why bother to be angry."

Let my sister-in-law and her family come back and occupy the west wing of the third courtyard, so that the three courtyards are full.

The second main courtyard of the sixth room of the Jiang family is occupied by Master Jiang Liu and his wife. A concubine and a maid live in the west wing, as well as two other maids. Jiang Xian lives in the east wing, which has now been converted into a study. The couple lived in the third courtyard. Xuan Ge'er currently occupied the east wing, and the west wing was still empty.

Because there were only two side rooms in the second courtyard, Mrs. Jiang Liu asked her to repaint and renovate the house in the garden that used to store flowers and trees and build it into Jiang Xian's new house.

She was thinking that after her husband became successful and had achieved fame, she would rent out the entire garden regardless of whether her mother-in-law was dead or not. Her sister-in-law told her that if they could rent out the garden and the seven or eight rooms, they could earn at least forty strings of cash a month, which was a huge sum of money.

If Mr. and Mrs. Jiang Xian continued to live in the second courtyard, there would definitely not be enough room for them, and they would probably have to move out. If so, it was their own decision to move out, not forced by her. It is impossible for the mother-in-law to let her daughter and son-in-law move out and let her son move in.

These were her true feelings, and she didn't even tell Mother Ge.

All of her actions were blatant conspiracy, no one could find any fault with her. If anyone was to blame, it was her mother-in-law who was too harsh.

Within three days, Yutou dug another window next to it according to Jinniang's instructions. Jinniang also found a gardener to plant a small clump of bamboo near the main house.

"Madam, Manager Qian from the silk shop is here." Aying said.

Jinniang went out hurriedly again. Silk and satin shops like Manager Qian's didn't have their own embroiderers, but they would buy other people's embroidery works from everywhere and use them as accessories or sell them on display.

Of course, they wanted old goods and the prices were not high.

Jinniang packed up the unsold sachets, purses and two vests and sold them to him, earning a total of more than one string of silver.

Then it rained twice in the next ten days and business in the store was extremely bad. Jinniang was afraid of slipping, so she only asked Aying to guard the store. She then began to design clothes with collars, shoes and socks for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Osmanthus and jade rabbit are must-haves. There is an osmanthus flower embroidered on the bodice and osmanthus and jade rabbit patterns on the collar. The highlight is on the shoes, which are goose yellow soft satin flat shoes with a snow-white little rabbit embellished on them.

Naturally, she also pinned a jade rabbit made of velvet flowers in her hair, and a goose yellow ribbon was wrapped around the back of her hair, giving her a very girlish look.

"Madam, I bought the osmanthus cake." Mother Luo asked Uncle Luo to bring it back.

Jinniang said happily: "Then I will go to the study and bring some snacks to Shiliu Lang."

Xiqiu and Minzhi both said, "It's great that you're at home. You often have people buy delicious food for your husband. I'm sure your husband is waiting for you."

Jinniang pursed her lips and smiled, and remembered that she had asked Xiaolang to go and see the big shop they had got yesterday. In a place like Jinliangqiao, five big shops only charged fifteen strings of cash. She thought it was too cheap. It would be better if she could find a big customer.

However, this matter should also be left to Jiang Xian, as he knows a lot of people.

As soon as I walked into the study, I saw Jiang Xian immediately stand up: "My wife is here."

He saw that his wife was dressed very cutely, and his heart almost melted. But he remembered something and said hurriedly, "My wife, the second cousin of the Zhou family came today. He came to thank our Jiang family for the roadside sacrifice and visited my mother. I'm afraid he will come to the study to talk to me later, so you should go back first."

It turned out that Zhou Cunzhi had come. Old Mrs. Zhou had already been buried, and Zhou's father and son had returned after accompanying the coffin back to their hometown.

"Okay, but you have to try this osmanthus cake. It's from Deyunlou. I waited in line for an hour to buy it." Jinniang said angrily.

Jiang Xian couldn't help but stroke the jade rabbit on her head: "Okay, I get it, Jade Rabbit Fairy."

"Why do you call me the Jade Rabbit Fairy? After all, I am the Fairy Chang'e." Jinniang poked his chest.

Jiang Xian was immediately aroused. Jinniang had been joking with him to ease the atmosphere, but when she saw him like this, she quickly prepared to leave. The two were looking at each other when they saw Zhou Cunzhi coming in from outside. Jiang Xian returned to normal and bowed gracefully.

Zhou Cunzhi didn't expect to see Jinniang here. Jiang Xian introduced her to Zhou Cunzhi: "Second brother Cun, this is my wife."

Jinniang and Zhou Cunzhi bowed to each other and walked out quickly.

I really didn't expect that she would marry Shiliulang. It was obvious that they had a very good relationship. When he came in, he saw them both smiling and talking happily. This could not be faked.

Obviously, Zhou Cunzhi also knew that Jiang Xian could marry someone better with his conditions, but he was not as paranoid as Jiang.

They just exchanged a few pleasantries and looked at Jiang Xian's article. The two of them had a happy conversation. Jiang Xian knew that he was in mourning and couldn't drink alcohol, so he just had someone serve tea and pushed the snacks on the table: "This is the osmanthus cake that my wife specially sent someone to buy. Second brother, have a try."

Zhou Cunzhi usually doesn't like these tooth-breakingly sweet snacks, but he somehow thought of Jinniang. He tried one and found it was really good. It doesn’t have the rich fragrance of osmanthus, but the slight warmth dilutes the sweetness, and there is actually a sweet taste of fermented rice cake.

"This cake tastes good and has a good meaning."

Osmanthus cake is also called Guanghan cake, which has the prophecy of "Guanghan Gaojia".

Jiang Xian usually doesn't show his emotions, but today, after hearing Zhou Cunzhi's words, he actually laughed and said, "I'm afraid my wife didn't think so much about it. She just bought it for me because she thought it tasted good."

Zhou Cunzhi's eyes dimmed. He was now at home in mourning, and was extremely tired after carrying the coffin back to his hometown. However, Zhang only cared about his reinstatement in the future after the mourning period. There was no one around him who cared about him. He accidentally fell asleep on the couch yesterday, and no one covered him with a quilt.

But it was hard to say this, and he always acted like an elder brother in front of Jiang Xian, so he just changed the subject and said, "You are still young, and there are many talented people in this exam. If you have solved the exam, you can try to figure out the excellent works of Yuan Jiang and Gu Yan from the Imperial Academy."

Jiang Xian smiled and said, "I heard that the Song family has already chosen this Imperial Scholar, and they are waiting to get married after the palace examination."

“A boy from a poor family may be a farmer in the morning and an emperor in the evening. Books may contain golden houses and beautiful women. This is true for all scholars.” Zhou Cunzhi also used these words to encourage Jiang Xian.

However, Jiang Xian thought that among the ruling Song's sons, only one had gotten into trouble and caused trouble frequently, so he had no choice but to send this person to be an idle official. Now that she has chosen a son-in-law from a poor family as her son-in-law, she is probably planning to support her son-in-law. When the Song ruler retires or resigns from office in the future, the Song family's sons will rely on Jiang Guyan to take care of them for the rest of their lives.

However, this kind of marriage often involves mutual satisfaction, with the couple seemingly compatible but not actually together, and few couples showing loving affection, including Zhou Cunzhi and Zhang.

It is not an accident that you get a temporary convenience now, but you may have to pay it back double in the future. He is now very fortunate that he and his wife are loving and harmonious.