The residence of the Jiang family, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, is located in Xing'anfang on the west side of the imperial city. It is adjacent to the residences of many court officials. Along the street, you can see tall pines and cypresses planted in the courtyard and swaying green bamboos, exuding a pure and elegant atmosphere everywhere.
At this moment, the Jiang Mansion was a busy and orderly scene. Servants were hurrying back and forth between the courtyard and the corridors. They were either sweeping the courtyard with brooms or carefully arranging the flower hall, waiting for the distinguished guests from the Marquis' Mansion who were about to visit.
The eldest wife of the Jiang family, Mrs. Sun, got up early in the morning, dressed carefully, and personally supervised all the arrangements.
Today, her mother-in-law and daughter came to visit her house. This was undoubtedly a very important matter for her. Although they lived in the capital together, her daughter could not go back to her parents' home as often as she wished.
Therefore, she must ensure that every detail is perfect and never allows any slackness.
"Madam, the flower hall has been decorated. Would you like to go and take a look?" a maid reported respectfully.
Sun nodded slightly, then walked towards the flower hall with several personal maids.
As soon as she stepped in, her eyes were attracted by several pots of blooming peonies. The Yaohuang and Doulv peonies planted in the mansion were elegant in color and emitted bursts of fragrant aroma, which was refreshing.
On the surrounding walls, there are some precious calligraphy and paintings hanging high, as if quietly telling the cultural heritage and taste preferences of the Jiang family.
"Well, it's really good." Sun nodded with satisfaction, a smile on her face as warm as the spring breeze. "Go to the kitchen and tell them that today's lunch must be prepared with extra care. Remember to prepare a few more dishes that the young lady likes."
"Yes, Madam." The maidservant stepped back and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
Not far from the flower hall is the courtyard where Jiang Wenbai and his wife, Mrs. Qiao, live.
At this moment, Second Madam Qiao was having her maid carefully insert a jade hairpin with kingfisher feathers and golden butterflies into her bun. She looked at it repeatedly in the bronze mirror, but was not satisfied, so she picked up a sapphire Xiaoxian Pavilion hairpin and compared it left and right.
The husband, Jiang Wenbai, was sitting nearby, flipping through a copy of "Huayang Guozhi" in his hand, absorbed in it. He caught a glimpse of his wife criticizing him out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but sigh and spoke with some helplessness.
"Hey, Madam, aren't these your favorite hairpins? Wouldn't it be the same no matter which one you wear?"
"What do you know?" Qiao was in high spirits. Hearing this, she immediately retorted, "You read books anyway, so why did you spend ten taels of silver on this old book you have in your hand?"
Jiang Wenbai was speechless for a moment. He shook his head, turned around in the recliner, turned his back to his wife, and muttered to himself: "Summer insects talk about ice, summer insects talk about ice~"
Mrs. Qiao snorted in displeasure, but finally chose to wear the exquisitely crafted jade hairpin. She stood up from the dressing table, walked to her husband, and gently pushed his shoulder.
"Shuxiu is coming home today. As his uncle, why don't you go sit in the living room and chat about family matters? Don't just bury yourself in books every time you have a day off."
Jiang Wenbai put down the book in his hand, looked up and said, "You women are gathering together to chat, so I won't join in the fun. If the second son of the Xue family comes, let him come to my place. I just happened to have two collections of essays that he can read together."
Qiao sighed helplessly, "Why don't you understand my thoughts?"
"Huh? Do you want the Xingyuan Marquisate to help you with something?" Jiang Wenbai asked with a confused look on his face.
"You!" Mrs. Qiao curled her lips in anger. "Aren't you anxious about your son's marriage? The old lady from the Marquis' Mansion is coming today, so we can try to find out what's going on."
When Jiang Wenbai heard that it was this matter, he became even less concerned.
"With such good character and appearance, are we worried that our son won't be able to find a good wife? ...By the way, when you went to borrow rice and grain from your parents' home, didn't your sisters-in-law all want to marry into our family? You can pick one you like and make it a perfect marriage. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?"
When Mrs. Qiao heard what her husband said, her face suddenly turned ugly and she looked angry.
"Back when I married into the Jiang family, they mocked me for being an illiterate girl, marrying into a family of Jinshi (a scholar), and predicted I'd be divorced and sent home in less than three years... At that time, when I went out to banquets, no one would welcome me. Instead of speaking up for me, my sisters-in-law took advantage of my misfortune and took advantage of the situation to step on me."
"Let's not talk about the past. Just look at this time when we went to borrow rice. They actually added 20% interest. Now that they see our Lun'er has made a name for himself, they want to marry their daughter to him. What wishful thinking! They're dreaming!"
Jiang Wenbai's ears were filled with his wife's words, and his head was buzzing, as if countless bees were flying around his ears.
He hurriedly jumped up from the recliner and pushed Qiao out of the yard.
"Madam, your sister-in-law is busy outside alone. You should go and lend her a hand. Don't wait until the carriage of the Marquis' Mansion arrives at the door before you continue to talk."
Reminded by him, Mrs. Qiao quickly glanced at the clock in the room. It was indeed late. She casually tossed the handkerchief in her hand and said, "I'll settle it with you when I get back!"
After saying that, he walked towards the flower hall in a hurry.
Jiang Wenbai stared at his wife's hurriedly leaving back, shook his head, and his gaze returned to the "Huayang Guozhi" in his hand.
The Spring and Autumn Period of Bashu described in the book is picturesque and fascinating. His thoughts drifted along with the words, as if he had already found himself in the distant mountains and rivers of Shu.
Thinking back to when I was the first in the second class of the imperial examination, I was also full of passion and longed to be sent to serve as an official in other places to seek benefits for the people. However, the late emperor showed favor to the Jiang family and allowed him to stay in the capital to serve as the chief clerk of the official silver office.
More than 20 years passed quickly. Jiang Wenbai was surrounded by money every day, but he gradually felt bored and it was far from his inner pursuit.
Nowadays, only during my days off can I immerse myself in books and travelogues and look for my long-lost dreams.
The courtyard regained its rare tranquility. Second Madam Qiao hurried to the exquisitely decorated flower hall and saw her eldest sister-in-law Sun concentrating on guiding the servants to arrange the tables, chairs and tea sets in an orderly manner. She hurried forward to help.
"Sister-in-law," Qiao asked enthusiastically, "how can I help you?"
Sun looked up and saw that it was Qiao. A warm smile appeared on her face. "Sister-in-law is here. Can you help me check whether these tea sets are arranged properly?"
So, the two of them stood side by side, checking the arrangement of the tea sets together, exchanging a few words from time to time, and the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious.
Just at this moment, the sound of carriages and horses could be heard outside the door. Madam Sun excitedly urged, "Quick, go out and see if the carriage from the Marquis' Mansion has arrived."
Everyone rushed to the outside and saw a team of carriages slowly approaching, with the emblem of the Marquis' Mansion decorated on the carriages.
In front of the carriage, Xue Zhongfu rode a fine horse and led the way in a heroic manner. The group stopped in front of the Jiang Mansion. The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Hong Yingrong and Jiang Shuxiu stepped on the horse curb and got off one after another.
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