"Mom, what's going on? Madam Jian is..." Mi Niang really didn't understand why Madam Jian was like this. Could it be that Madam Jian had some unknown relationship with her family?

Mrs. Ding Er also didn't understand: "I remember that Madam Jian's surname was Weng. Her father was a second-rank official and a prominent family in Jiannan. Moreover, the Weng family's ancestral home is Shuzhou, which is very far from us."

According to the ages of Mrs. Jian and her mother, Mi Niang would certainly guess a lot of legends, but she knew everything about Mi Niang's maternal grandparents' family. Their ancestors had lived in Jiangling for eight generations and were not outsiders.

My maternal grandmother, Ms. Liu, came from a small merchant family. Because they were related to the landlord family, Ms. Chen married my maternal grandfather.

Because Mrs. Ding was still very young when Liu left, she couldn't remember what she looked like. But she was not as elegant and graceful as Mrs. Jian today. She only remembered that her aunt once mentioned that she was timid and eavesdropped outside the private school when she was young. She was more restless than ordinary girls.

Ruan Jiading said, "No matter what, let's go and find out tomorrow."

Mi Niang and Ding Er Niang also thought it made sense, but she had one thing to say: "No matter what kind of relationship we have, we don't need what she gives us."

Does this money seem like a lot? In fact, it was a drop in the bucket for the Jian family, who had served as the salt administrator of Huainan. They bribed the eunuchs in the palace with pearls in sacks.

Some things can be used, like the betrothal gift sent by the Fang family. It is a marriage contract between the two families. It is unorthodox to deliberately not use it. But her family and the Jian family have nothing to do with each other. Since ancient times, those who are attentive to others for no reason are either treacherous or thieves. How can everyone not understand this truth?

Second Madam Ding nodded.

When she returned to her room, Zisu and Baizhi had just cleaned the house and burned incense. Mi Niang took a deep breath and felt much fresher.

Xia Lian said, "Miss, why did the pink handkerchief disappear when we went to the Marquis' Mansion last time? I have been looking for it for several days but couldn't find it."

She remembered that the young lady had spent a long time making this handkerchief, and the incense was specially made by her.

Mi Niang smiled and said, "I lost the handkerchief a long time ago. There were too many people that day and I don't know where I lost it. Forget it. There's no need to look for it anymore."

She dropped it on the ground on purpose. Men would not take out the handkerchief when they saw it, for fear that others would see it and feel weird, so they would definitely keep it with them all the time.

This was the first step to mess with his mind.

For someone like Fang Weiyan, he is different from Li Guan. He has a bottom line. As long as he can't find any flaws in her, he will be halfway successful.

His mother wasn't picky about things like family background, so of course he wouldn't be picky either.

But it was also difficult for him to fall in love with her.

It was a rare night for Fang Weiyan not to read, so he had a few drinks facing the moon.

He didn't know whether this decision was right or not. If he firmly refused to agree, his mother probably wouldn't force him.

His mother gave birth to three of them, and after he showed his talent for studying, his mother did everything for him. So if he really didn't want to, his mother would definitely let it go. But, how could he, who was always cautious, agree so foolishly?

"Brother, you haven't slept yet?"

Fang Weiyan looked and saw that it was his younger brother Fang Weijun, who was still a young boy and also studying in the academy.

He was very thin and not very tall, but his eyes were very clear. Fang Weiyan remembered that after his brother sued the prince in his previous life, he became mentally confused and finally frightened himself to death.

"I can't sleep. The night wind is so strong. What are you doing here?"

Fang Weijun said, "Brother, today is your good day, and you are not able to sleep. It's just that my third brother married a county lady, and my second brother married the daughter of the Yu family. But I heard that my sister-in-law is just the daughter of a sixth-rank official. Although she is from a wealthy family, their branch has long been extinct. Anyway, this is not fair to you, my fourth brother."

Fang Weiyan didn't expect Fang Weijun to say this. He patted his brother's shoulder and said, "What's fair or unfair? Miss Ruan's father was also a second-class Jinshi. His family fell into poverty, but he was still able to pass the imperial examination at the age of thirty, which shows that he is indeed talented. Don't just listen to other people's gossip and follow their words. In this mansion, people always want to make trouble out of nothing."

How many people have changed their stance because of rumors?

As the saying goes, a gentleman's kindness will be cut off after five generations. Which family can protect you forever?

In the future he was going to take the imperial examination and become a civil official, but he was born in a marquis's mansion, and nobles and civil officials have always been different kinds of people. For him, who was neither, it happened to be best for him to marry Ruan.

My mother's consideration was very appropriate. Nguyen came from a prominent family and had experience in living in a large family. Moreover, she was born in a beautiful and intelligent family. She had read a lot of books and was good at writing and painting. Such a woman had a different perspective and was also good at communication.

In their family, what the mother fears most is finding someone who is unfaithful.

Why did the eldest sister-in-law and her family push for him and Cousin Ye to get together? The reason was that Cousin Ye was weak and sickly, and she couldn't manage the family after she got married. Cousin Jin was too cunning. She didn't offend the prince and his wife, but also made friends with them. There was a younger brother in the family who couldn't study well, and the child, who was only a few years old, knew how to touch the girls.

However, Ruan did not have such complicated relationships. Her father was a newly-appointed Jinshi and the savior of the son of Li Tan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Without anyone to rely on, it was not easy for her to have second thoughts.

Perhaps Fang Weiyan thought that his mother probably didn't know that this Miss Ruan was definitely not a person of leisure.

"Fourth brother, since you have said so, it would be unworthy of me to say anything more. But I heard from mother that my uncle seems to be not doing well. If that doesn't work out, bring my aunt back home." Fang Weijun quickly changed the subject.

Fang Weiyan sighed: "Grandma loves my aunt the most. I am not worried about anything else. The main thing is that she and my mother have always been at odds. When we are in the outer courtyard, there are some things that we cannot discuss."

Suddenly he was looking forward to Ruan's entry into the palace. As the saying goes, it is difficult to change a person's nature even though it is easy to change the country. Ruan used to dominate the harem, so she must be more capable.

If a person has no ability, even if he is suppressed, he will only be helpless and furious and unable to turn things around.

But people with abilities will not be restricted by others.

After daybreak, the Ruan family stayed up all night. Ruan Jiading and Second Madam Ding came to visit in person, but Mrs. Jian heard that she was taking her granddaughter to worship Buddha, so Second Madam Ding returned the gift and came back.

When Mi Niang got up, she saw Second Mistress Ding and the others coming back, and she said she didn't see anyone.

"Then forget it. The truth will eventually come out."

Maybe the truth is even worse, Mi Niang thought.

In the past, she was the kind of person who liked to argue with others and had to win. She couldn't sleep well until the truth was revealed. But after experiencing many things, she found that it was often better not to know the truth.

If Mrs. Jane really had some background, why did she ignore them for so many years and only come back when they were living a good life?

Mi Niang always assumes the utmost malice towards others.

Sometimes when she sees others being very innocent, she wonders why she can never be carefree, but I am who I am, different from others.

On the other side, after Mrs. Zhang helped her mother, Mrs. Jian, to rest, she went straight to the Buddhist temple.

A scene from many years ago reappeared before her eyes. It was the spring equinox then, and there were few pedestrians on the road. Her mother's husband had died, and when she heard that her grandfather had become a high-ranking official, she took her to live with her grandfather.

My mother was born very thin, and there was always a hint of compassion in her weak expression. They bought a lot of dry food and supplies in this town, and my mother also rescued a woman who was being chased by kidnappers.

That woman was also a pitiful person. It was said that her parents had died and her husband was gone. When she returned to her parents' home, she was randomly married off by her brother and sister-in-law. After she finally escaped, she was captured by the horse gang again and fell into the hands of the kidnappers.

She was very capable and literate, and she was able to arrange for her mother to go with her even when they were walking on the mountain road. Her mother liked to talk to her and they talked about almost everything.

She called the woman Aunt Liu, and Aunt Liu said she also had a daughter who was about her age, and that she would go back to pick her up when she made some money.

That day, when we arrived at a forest, a lot of refugees suddenly rushed out. My mother wanted to take out food to provide relief, but Aunt Liu refused. She said that these people were very hungry and if we stopped, it would be more dangerous.

Because my mother had always been in poor health, a senior monk recommended that she become a nun to recuperate, which might help. However, my grandparents were unwilling to send their infant daughter to a nun, so they sent her to someone else's home to be raised as a child bride, and would get married when she was old enough.

That family was very kind to my mother and had sympathy for the poor and weak. Even though her mother only had her, she was still very spoiled by her family and never despised or abandoned.

It was only after my father died of illness that my maternal grandparents sent a letter asking my mother and I to go back home. But in fact, my mother didn't want to go back.

Because she hadn't seen her parents for more than 20 years. When she was young, she was forbidden to see them because of the advice of a senior monk. Later, she couldn't see her grandfather because he was always on a mission outside the city.

The grandparents who came to pick them up were not very many people, and they originally planned to hire bodyguards to follow them, but when they saw that their mother was weak, they picked a few servants to deal with it.

After hearing what Aunt Liu said, my mother was a little hesitant, but unfortunately a baby among the refugees came out crying.

My mother insisted on distributing dry food, and the refugees rushed forward, and the guards could not stop them. She was very scared at that time. Seeing this, Aunt Liu made a quick decision and took her away.

They stayed nearby for three days before returning. Their mother had already died there, and the rest of the nannies and guards who came to pick them up were all there.

My mother's clothes were torn by the refugees. Aunt Liu knelt beside her and swore that she would send her to my grandparents' home.

In order to make it easier to get there, Aunt Liu used her mother's pass. They were a bit similar, both very thin and of similar age.

On the way, Aunt Liu also met Mr. Jian, who also lost his wife. There were two naughty boys in front of him, but only Aunt Liu could control them.

Aunt Liu is a member of the Weng family, and Lord Jian brought his sons with him to take office. She had to call Aunt Liu "mother" in front of outsiders.

Who would have thought that when she arrived at the Weng family's house, her grandparents actually thought that Aunt Liu was her mother, and that Lord Jian had come to propose marriage.

She privately told her grandmother: "My mother is dead. Aunt Liu is not my mother. She died at the hands of refugees. She has no clothes left."

But the grandmother laughed: "Silly child, you are confused."

Later, when she grew up, she realized that even though her mother died because of pity for the poor and weak, her death was too ignominious. It was good enough that the Weng family took her and her in. What would they do if their reputation was ruined?

Aunt Liu was very smart. She tried her best to hold onto Lord Jian, and even told herself that she would take her sister in, and then they would be sisters.

Humph, what sisters? She doesn’t want sisters.

Aunt Liu was not her biological mother, so if her daughter came, where would she be?

She went on a hunger strike and made a fuss for a long time. Aunt Liu compromised and Lord Jian became more and more powerful. Later, she heard from Aunt Liu that she asked Lord Jian to send someone back to inquire about her sister's situation, but Lord Jian was transferred again.

She was particularly happy at that time, because only when she was not around, Aunt Liu would not miss the one at home. She was now the eldest daughter of the Jian family, her mother was from the Weng family, and her aunt was the wife of the Marquis. She was the best wherever she went.

But when she woke up in the middle of the night, she thought of her biological mother, that kind and almost weak woman. Many people were tearing her clothes, and she was awakened instantly.

Later, Aunt Liu had three sons and had even less time. When she did find time to send someone to Jiangling, she was said to have married. Although she was not as well-dressed as a lady of the ten-mile-long red dress, she was married to a wealthy family, a merchant in the capital.

Aunt Liu also laughed: "Brother Wu is really a good person. With her care, Shujun will surely be fine."

Mrs. Jane herself was very business-minded, good at commerce and management, and it seemed that she gave the girl all the love that should have been given to her.

When she got married, her dowry amounted to 180 sets. Mrs. Jane said that her daughter came from a poor family and giving her too much dowry would not be a good thing.

Later, she married a man of her dreams, had a lovely son, and lived a comfortable life. Her grandmother, who knew about this, had already passed away. Her aunt, Lady Hou, received money from Aunt Liu every year, but she would not say anything even if she knew about it.

All this was peaceful and calm until the day she went to Jiangling.

That was Aunt Liu's hometown. She couldn't help but inquire about the woman who had married into a merchant family. But when she saw this Madam Wu, she was shivering and looked like a philistine. She was hardly worth worrying about.

But as she inquired more clearly, she found out that the second wife was Lu Shujun, who was almost a pauper and not worth worrying about.

Unexpectedly, she became the wife of a scholar in just one year. Mrs. Zhang was panicked. She knew very well that Aunt Liu's kindness to her was largely to make up for her daughter.

If Aunt Liu saw her, she would openly acknowledge her daughter. Now Aunt Liu no longer needs the identity of the Weng family. The Weng family's grandfather is no longer alive, and several uncles rely on the Jian family instead.

Aunt Liu is no longer the precarious Mrs. Weng, but Mrs. Jian.

She planned and planned a lot, but finally she came to the capital.

If Lu Shujun was a greedy person, perhaps it could alleviate Mrs. Jane's guilt, but she didn't want anything, which would only make Mrs. Jane feel more guilty.

But if they recognize each other as mother and daughter, wouldn't she become a joke?

Her mother's good deeds could not be expressed in words, and she couldn't say it, otherwise everyone would think that a woman was killed by refugees, with her clothes in disarray...

Mrs. Jian was not afraid of being exposed for not being a daughter of the Weng family, because she controlled businesses in nine provinces and her husband was the Minister of Revenue, so the Weng family was nothing to her.

One hundred and eighty sets of dowry are nothing. Mrs. Jane can give one thousand sets and some left over.

Autumn has gone and winter has come. This day happens to be the winter solstice. People in the north eat dumplings on the winter solstice, and women gather together to make dumplings.

The kitchen prepared three kinds of fillings: leek and egg, three fresh vegetables, and celery and pork.

Mi Niang imitated her mother's technique and made a plump dumpling.

"Here, mother, how do you think I knead it?"

"nice."

In fact, they don't eat dumplings very often in Jiangling. People in Jiangling love to eat glutinous food. For example, they used to eat glutinous rice balls during the winter solstice. The glutinous rice balls in Jiangling are mostly small ones made of Chengjiang flour. There is no filling inside. They are especially delicious when cooked with rice wine and egg drops.

Now that we are in Kyoto, of course we have to follow the local customs.

Zhou smiled and said, "I seem to have heard that the fourth young lady in the mansion over there is going to marry a prince."

"It's the son of the Earl of Nanping, right? That's not so good. I don't know what the family thinks. I heard that the prince is a philanderer and has so many concubines at home that they can't even accommodate them all. It's not proper for him to be with someone like that and he's not a good match." Second Madam Ding had more social connections than Zhou, so of course she understood better.

Zhou was silent. She was married into a good family. Her mother-in-law was her aunt and her husband was her cousin. They were both successful and motivated. Although her family background was not as high as that of the Marquis's, her life was much more comfortable.

A woman's life is not about a man's power and wealth, what's more important is whether he knows how to feel cold and warm.

Having a caring husband is better than anything else.

Mi Niang sighed and said that it was no wonder that the third girl fought for her. The powerful and wealthy only looked at benefits when marrying someone. They did not care whether the man had a title or how he behaved, but instead thought it was a good thing.

Only women know the difference.

Then Mi Niang thought about herself again, would Fang Wei Yan dare to do anything wrong?

But she and Fang Weiyan were not really familiar with each other, and because they were engaged, she had to be more cautious in their relationship, which highlighted the reservedness of a lady from a wealthy family.

Just as I was thinking about it, Fang Weiyan came unexpectedly. He came to bring me some dumplings, porridge and rice for the Winter Solstice.

Mrs. Ding asked him to sit down and said hurriedly, "Our master has gone to the government office. My dear boy, it's so cold, it's hard for you to come."

"My mother said that your family is from the south, and I'm afraid you don't like the dumplings that we're used to in Beijing, so I specially prepared some of the ones that we always have in our house. If you like them, I'll send them to you next time."

When he proposed marriage, it was the matchmaker who came. Now when he came here, he felt that although this house was not big, it was clean and exquisite.

Fang Weiyan spoke to Second Grandma Ding without looking away, which made his mother-in-law feel very favorable towards him.

The Second Wife would definitely not like the kind of man who is too clingy, behaves too frivolously, and whose eyes almost fall to the ground when he sees the beauty of his daughter.

Mi Niang had no idea he was coming, so she dressed very casually at home, with her hair tied up in a bun. She thought the hairpin was too heavy, so she used a wooden pin instead.

The clothes were a half-worn goose-yellow jacket with no decorations at all.

She always presented herself to others with the most perfect appearance, but today she acted like this and couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

When Mrs. Ding asked Fang Weiyan to teach her eight-legged essay, she was still hesitant and not at all calm as usual.

Looking at Fang Weiyan again, I felt that his whole body seemed like a fine jade that had been polished, warm, smooth and powerful.

"What are you doing recently?" Fang Weiyan asked her with a smile.

Of course he saw Mi Niang's bare face, her skin was as white as the milk tofu she ate every day, and her eyes were as red as grapes. She was still a little girl!

When Mi Niang heard him ask her what she was doing, she said embarrassedly, "I've been reading some books at home lately." When the weather got cold, she had no energy to do needlework.

Fortunately, the four older girls around me are all good at needlework.

Fang Weiyan continued to ask without missing a beat. Instead, he smiled and said, "I heard from Eleventh Brother that you wanted to learn eight-part essays. But if you want to learn how to write essays well, you have to read them first. I have made a list of books and will have someone send them to you. You can read them step by step. You will probably get the hang of it in less than half a year."

No wonder Ruan Shiyi asked her what book she was reading recently a few days ago. It turned out that she was telling Fang Weiyan.

She couldn't help but nodded: "I know."

After getting engaged, we are not allowed to go out. Mi Niang is not as willing to learn as before. She didn’t like socializing before, but now she is very happy to be able to go out and get some fresh air.

Seeing Mi Niang's hesitant and unhappy look, Fang Weiyan thought, this is still a little girl! In his previous life, he had been alone for ten years and had seen countless people. He could see all of Mi Niang's little thoughts.

It is indeed boring for a girl to read eight-legged essays alone.

Fang Weiyan smiled and said, "I saw a string of wind chimes at Yaqing's place the other day. They were made of silk flowers and looked like real lilac flowers. They were scented with lilac juice and when the wind blew, it sounded like spring. I asked them to bring them to you to play with."

Huh? When Mi Niang brought Fang Yaqing's things to her, she shook her head and said, "This is not good. This is not taking advantage of others. A gentleman should not take advantage of others."

"Nothing."

Since he said so, Mi Niang smiled and nodded. Fang Wei Yan was also very thoughtful. Her aunt had just returned home. She had always been closest to the prince and his wife, and had a bad relationship with his mother. If Miss Ruan met her aunt at that time, the aunt's mouth was like a knife, and she would be in trouble if she was said anything bad.

She could have become the empress dowager. Even though he couldn't give her that status, he couldn't let her suffer any injustice.

So when he was about to tell her about his aunt, he heard Mi Niang's soft voice: "You gave me this, so what should I give you in return?"

Ah? Although Fang Weiyan was always good at handling big and small things, and was praised by his teacher as a talent who could assist the king when he passed the imperial examination at a young age, he was shocked by the proper relationship between men and women.

His wife in the previous life was a very virtuous woman. She had bound feet and never left the house. She sat cross-legged on the bed every day and seldom got out of bed. She said that in order to have children, she gave all four maids who came with her as a dowry to him and even arranged a time.

He was not fond of sensual pleasures, so he never went to the inner house again.

Later, the younger brother Fang Weijun became mentally ill and often shouted that there were ghosts. Dong was the one who believed in ghosts the most in the inner house. She secretly drank a lot of talisman water and finally died of illness in less than half a year.

His mother wanted to marry his cousin Jin to him, but he was completely afraid. All the maids who came with Dong as a dowry were dismissed. His younger brother Weijun died early and did not have time to get married. One of his maids was quite scheming and did not take contraceptive pills. She got pregnant, and he adopted her after she gave birth.

He had no idea how to get along with girls. When he saw Mi Niang speaking so softly and tenderly, instead of treating him as a sex-crazed devil, it was rare for a mature man like him to show a hint of charm on his face.

"Why should I buy the casket and return the pearl?"

It means that no matter how good your things are, they are not as good as you.

Mi Niang curled her lips and said, "Look at you pretending to be mature and steady. I want you to talk about love."