At the Marquis of Jingning's mansion, Liu Yulian sighed as she heard her mother's words. She understood that her elder sister's life was the most common life for women in this era. Even the noble ladies of high status had to endure their husbands being with other men.

In her previous life, Liu Yulian enjoyed reading time-travel novels. This didn't mean she liked men with multiple wives; she simply wanted to see a lifelong couple. She also rarely read rebirth novels; she didn't like the heroine to have a bad past life and then move on to a new man in this life, especially if that man had other wives in his past life.

She read those novels and occasionally wanted to travel through time herself. She didn't want to travel to ancient times, and she was also afraid of traveling to ancient times.

When Liu Yulian thought about her past life, she felt lucky to have the cheat. If she didn't have the cheat, her life wouldn't have been so good.

According to what Mrs. Huo said about her so-called previous life, if Liu Yulian was still wearing clothes, then she must have had a hard life.

"Your eldest sister is just silly sometimes," said Liu's mother. "How can you trust a man's feelings?"

Liu's mother wanted to talk about Princess Zhaoyang. Princess Zhaoyang was a member of the imperial family, the adopted daughter of the current empress dowager. In the past, Princess Zhaoyang was considered a favored princess within the imperial family, yet her former husband treated her so badly.

Liu's mother believed that all men were essentially the same. "When you get married, don't think too much about your husband. Think about yourself. Even if your husband treats you well now, he might not treat you well in the future."

"Yes, that's right." Liu Yulian said.

Even in the later monogamy era, men still cheated on their wives and kept mistresses, not to mention that in ancient times, it was legal to keep concubines and maids. Unless a man kept a mistress, it was illegal.

Liu Yulian knew that men were unreliable and that it was better for women to be strong. Not to mention that men didn't like strong women, choosing to become a dodder for a man was the most foolish decision.

"Don't gamble on a man's true love. You can't afford it." Liu's mother said, "Some people acted passionately and made promises, but after a few years, the man treated another woman the same way."

“…” Liu Yulian was silent.

"Even though you're so powerful now and He Xiyuan treats you very well, who can guarantee what will happen in the future?" Liu's mother believed that they couldn't guarantee anything and should be more careful and not become crazy about love. "If you don't feel good, just divorce. It will save you from other troubles. That way, you don't have to worry about others saying you don't have a good husband."

Liu's mother thought it was harmless, and as long as Liu Yulian was willing to give up, it would be nothing. Liu Yulian was so capable, if Liu Yulian herself didn't live a comfortable life, what would the other women do?

Other women do not have such strong abilities, and it is not easy for them to live a good life.

Mother Liu has never been a rigid person, but she is the mistress of the Marquis's Mansion, and she herself does not have as much ability as Liu Yulian.

"Do you understand? Don't put yourself in a difficult position." Mother Liu said, "You have the Princess's Mansion, so you don't have to rely on your brother. It's not that women can't live without men, it's that women can't live without support. Just rely on yourself, and that's all."

"Yeah." Liu Yulian nodded slightly, "Sister, this is... our family affairs..."

"They probably want you to sever your ties with Liu Yuqin so you can distance yourself from your elder sister," Liu's mother said. "Those who achieve great things don't pay attention to trivial matters. To be frank, they're actually a bit cruel."

The Qin family was worried that Liu Yulian would cruelly stop considering Madam Qin as her elder sister. As for the maids that the Qin family gave to Madam Qin, Madam Qin's children were almost ten years old. People outside said that the Qin family treated Madam Qin well. The Qin family had not yet given Madam Qin a concubine, and it was only a maid.

A maidservant is not worth the wife's concern!

This is what the ancients thought. Liu Yulian also knows what these people think, and she cannot change the current situation.

"In a few days, if that maidservant gets pregnant, she will probably be promoted to a concubine." Mother Liu said, "It's impossible to send her away again."

"Do you want to go see your elder sister?" Liu Yulian asked.

"It would be the same even if you went there," said Liu's mother. "If your eldest sister hadn't given birth yet, the most they would do would be to have the maidservants drink contraceptive soup."

Mother Liu thought that the Qin family was not an ordinary family, and it was impossible for the Qin family to change their attitude easily. The Qin family could not let others think that they were too afraid of Liu Yulian and Jingning Marquis Mansion. The Qin family also had to save face.

"If you want to go over there, then go and take a look." Mother Liu said, "Your eldest sister also knows that it's wrong, but you shouldn't always go over there."

Of course, Liu's mother wanted her eldest daughter to live a good life, but she couldn't let her younger daughter rush in to do things for her. The eldest daughter needed to learn to grow up and stop being a girl in the boudoir. The husband's family was different from her own family. Her own family would consider their daughter more, but the husband's family was not like that.

"Okay." Liu Yulian said.

Liu Yulian couldn't care less. At most, she would sometimes go to Madam Qin's place. But she really couldn't go there too often. She had other things to do, so it still depended on Madam Qin's own decision.

Madam Qin's status and position are not as high as Liu Yulian's. In the eyes of others, when Liu Yulian goes to see Madam Qin, it means that Princess Rongning values ​​Madam Qin.

The Chinese New Year was approaching, and Liu Yulian brought some things when she came to the Qin family.

Mrs. Qin Dashao originally thought that Liu Yulian would not come to the Qin family, at least when she did not invite Liu Yulian, Liu Yulian would not come again. When she learned that Liu Yulian was coming, she was stunned for a while.

"You must be tired from going to Hainan. Why didn't you rest more at home?" Madam Qin Dashao no longer dared to be jealous of Liu Yulian, nor did she dare to say much about her sister.

"It's okay, I just came to take a look." Liu Yulian said, "I brought some things from Hainan and want to give them to you."

"Thank you." Madam Qin said. She and Liu Yulian just felt different and they could never go back to the past. Madam Qin knew it in her heart, but since her younger sister was here and she was so kind to her, she certainly couldn't refuse her younger sister's kindness. "Please stay for lunch."

"Okay." Liu Yulian did not refuse.

Mrs. Qin immediately ordered someone to go to the kitchen and ask them to cook the dishes Liu Yulian liked. In fact, Mrs. Qin didn't remember what Liu Yulian liked to eat, but after she figured it out, she went to ask.

If you want to have good relationships with people, small things like this are essential. At least among family members, it is best to know these things.

"When I got married, you were still very young, only two or three years old," said Madam Qin. "At that time, I asked you if you were reluctant to see your elder sister get married, and you asked me if I had any candy."

"Really?" Liu Yulian didn't remember such a small thing.

When Mrs. Qin learned that Princess Rongning planned to stay at the Qin family for lunch, she also instructed people to prepare more things and asked those people to be more attentive, because she was Princess Rongning, not an ordinary person.

Madam Qin didn't let her son go to Madam Qin Da Shao at this time, "Let the sisters have a good talk."

"No way." said Young Master Qin.

"People in the Jingning Marquis's Mansion have been paying more attention to her recently," Madam Qin said, "perhaps it's because of your maidservant."

Madam Qin understood this matter with a little thought. As a woman from the inner court, how could she not understand this matter? She didn't want her son-in-law to take a concubine, but she couldn't do it. She didn't want her husband to take a concubine, but she couldn't do it either.

"Wait a moment, then send that maid away." Madam Qin suddenly thought of the old lady of the Chengguo Mansion. Madam He directly told others that He Xiyuan wanted to be with him for the rest of his life, and that He Xiyuan liked Princess Rongning. The Chengguo Mansion also recognized Princess Rongning as He Xiyuan's fiancée.

Madam He also said a lot of good things about Princess Rongning outside, which surprised those people. They had known that Madam He was a very snobbish person, but they didn't expect that Madam He could do this.

Madam Qin is certainly no match for Princess Rongning. Madam Qin just wants her family to give face to Princess Rongning, so there is no need to wait until something happens before asking someone to speak.

"You arrange it." Young Master Qin didn't care whether she had a maidservant or not. He was the heir of the Qin family, so how could he not know those things?

Women are not necessities at all, nor are they the most important things.

Princess Rongning's absence from discussing these matters didn't mean the Qin family didn't understand the intentions of the Marquis of Jingning and Princess Rongning. Those people simply came to let the Qin family know they hadn't ignored Madam Qin, to make them think twice before treating her badly.

It wasn't that Madam Qin didn't want her son to have more children, but Madam Qin, the eldest young master, already had two sons and a daughter. Those children were all quite good, and the eldest grandson was quite gifted in studying.

It is enough if the legitimate grandson is capable. Two legitimate grandsons are enough for now.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the Jingning Marquisate will prosper for at least another hundred years," Madam Qin said, "not to mention Princess Rongning's lineage."

"I understand, son." said Young Master Qin.

They mother and son could not possibly consider the situation of the maidservant, who was just a servant. At most, they would give her some money and let her marry, and some families would even sell her directly.

Mrs. Qin came over specially during lunch.

"They had some issues when you went to Hainan, but now everything is fine," Mrs. Qin said. "They already have three children, but they're still acting like little kids. I'll make the decision to send that maid away and let her get married."

Liu Yulian hadn't expected Madam Qin to say this. Before she came here, her mother had told her not to talk about those things. It was mainly because it was useless for them to talk about these things. It still depended on the attitude of the Qin family.

What matters is that the Qin family is willing to do those things themselves. If someone from the Marquis of Jingning's Mansion or Princess Rongning threatens them to do something, it will not be so easy.

Even if they forced the Qin family to do what they wanted, after a while, others would come looking for trouble elsewhere.

"Big sister." Liu Yulian looked at Mrs. Qin, the eldest young master.

"You like to eat sweet and sour pork ribs. Try it and see if it tastes good." asked Mrs. Qin.

"It tastes good." Liu Yulian didn't say anything else.

"When you were little, before your teeth had fully grown, you loved to chew on sweet and sour pork ribs," said Madam Qin. "Back then, Mother had the kitchen staff stew the ribs until they were soft enough, for fear that you would hurt your teeth."

"Those were things from my childhood," Liu Yulian said. "I can't remember them clearly."

"It's sour and sweet, and it's really delicious." Madam Qin said, "Many things are like this, sour and sweet."

“…” Liu Yulian suspected that Madam Qin was talking about more than just sweet and sour pork ribs.

"After the sourness, it becomes sweet." said Mrs. Qin.

"..." Liu Yulian felt that she should not say too much. She had no idea whether they had other intentions.

Young Master Qin didn't say much. He treated him as a foil. At most, he would pick up some food for Young Master Qin's wife and act like he was very nice to her.

Numb, Liu Yulian stopped thinking about it.

When Liu Yulian returned, Madam Qin offered to see her off, but Liu Yulian said it was unnecessary. Madam Qin was her elder, so that was different.

At the Marquis of Jingning's Mansion, after Liu Yulian came back, she told her mother what the Qin family had done.

"At the dinner table, my eldest sister was quite nice to my brother-in-law," Liu Yulian said. It was impossible to tell that Young Master Qin had a maidservant.

The Qin family even directly sent the maid away, so Liu Yulian certainly couldn't say it was unnecessary. If the Qin family was willing to do so, it was of course the best.

It wasn't the Liu family threatening the Qin family, it was the Qin family themselves who wanted to do that.

Liu Yulian hadn't expected Madam Qin to say that directly. She suddenly thought that Madam Qin might be saying that because of her status. If she weren't a princess or the director of the research institute, Madam Qin wouldn't have said that.

"They value you more." Liu's mother said. It's not like she didn't go to the Qin family, but Mrs. Qin didn't say that at the time.

Few of these noble ladies in the capital are fools. Some of them see that Old Madam He has done that. Others cannot do what Old Madam He does, but they can do a little.

"It's like this outside," said Liu's mother, "and it's the same in the inner house. When you get married, you'll slowly learn more."

Liu Yulian thought that knowing too much did not necessarily mean happiness, and she simply did not want to know so much.

A day later, when Liu Yulian and He Xiyuan were having dinner in a restaurant, Liu Yulian also talked about the changes in the Qin family.

"Grandma does better than them." He Xiyuan said.

“…” Liu Yulian was silent.

"We won't have to go to this point." He Xiyuan couldn't let Liu Yulian fall to the level of Madam Qin. "At least you still have a deterrent effect, and can make your sisters' lives better."

"Yeah." Liu Yulian just felt a little sad.

Life was difficult for women in ancient times. They always had to rely on their natal family, and if their natal family could not support them, they would be easily bullied.

"Don't worry about others." He Xiyuan said, "This is not a matter of lips and teeth being cold."

"There are always few unique people." Liu Yulian sighed.

"Then we must believe that we can be unique." He Xiyuan picked up some food for Liu Yulian.

"Yeah." Liu Yulian nodded slightly. She hoped that they could become unique.

In the northwest, Mrs. Huo had already received the ointment sent to her by the Huo Bo Mansion. The Huo Bo Mansion did not send Mrs. Huo any money, at most some clothes, nothing else.

Mrs. Huo felt a little depressed when she saw those things. Was it these things that she needed? She needed money. When these things were on the road, she didn't know if anyone else had touched them.

The clothes were fine, she could still wash and wear them. But if there was something wrong with the ointment, then her face would not heal.

Mrs. Huo was a little scared when she saw the ointments. But there were only a few bottles of ointment. What if she let others test it first and the ointment was gone? What would she do then?

But Mrs. Huo didn't have enough money to buy a better ointment, so she could only use it for now.

"Why don't you send the money?" Da Huo still owed money to some people.

There were always some people in the village who believed that Da Huo could offer high interest because she was the daughter of the Bo family. If the Bo family had not collapsed, then the people in the Bo family would probably give Da Huo a lot of things.

When those people knew that Da Huo had accepted the gifts sent from the capital, they went to Da Huo to repay the money.

But Mrs. Huo didn't have that much money, so of course she couldn't pay it back at this time.

"They sent me ointment, clothes, and some other food this time," Da Huo said. "We don't have that much silver. How about you consider using these things as compensation?"

Those people were not willing to use those things to buy things for the Huo family. Those things were not that useful to ordinary people. A piece of expensive clothes could buy a lot of clothes from ordinary people, and the same goes for food.

People like Da Huo would definitely not say that those things are worthless. Once they take those things, Da Huo might not return the money.

"Pay back the money," they said. "No need to use anything else as collateral."

"Then you just wait." Mrs. Huo said, "It's only been a short time since I lent you the money, and you're asking for it so soon? It's only a few hundred or a few dozen coins, not even a tael of silver. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Mrs. Huo wanted to borrow more money, but these people were simply unwilling to lend her that much money.

"You said you would pay it back before the New Year."

"This amount of money may be small for your family, but it's a lot for us."

"Hurry up, pay me back."

"If that doesn't work, go to the pawn shop and pawn your things."

…

Those people didn't want to take things from Da Huo's because they would charge a high price. But if Da Huo pawned the things themselves, it would be different.

Mrs. Huo was not willing to pawn her things to pay back the money. "The Bo family is willing to send me things, which means they care about me. There will be more things in the future. Are you only concerned about the things in front of you? It's so cold. If I get cold and sick, you can forget about the money! My family will not let you go."

"You..." Those people didn't expect that the Huo family would be so shameless.

"If you have the guts, just rob me." said Mrs. Huo.

When those people couldn't get the money from the Da Huo family, some of them went to the village chief. The village chief was helpless. The Da Huo family was such a shameless person that no one could force them to pay.

If Da Huoshi didn't give them money, they couldn't hold a knife to Da Huoshi's neck. They could only ask Da Huoshi to save more money, but Da Huoshi was not a person who would save money.

"You go find her," the village chief said. "You guys lent her the money, why are you coming to me now? I'm the village chief, and I can't control you."

The village chief was also an ordinary person, and Da Huo was a woman, so they could not force Da Huo.