Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Marriage.
"You said that Linzhi hurt Mrs. Zhou, but grandmother didn't deal with Linzhi. Instead, she ordered people to send Mrs. Zhou and her family away?" The third girl was having dinner in the house. When she heard this strange news, she was half-believing and half-doubting.
The maidservant Chen Xiang had always disliked Lin Zhi, so she added fuel to the fire by saying, "That's right. Mrs. Zhou treats her very well. When I go to the kitchen, I often see her picking up food for her."
The third girl curled her lips: "Really a white..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw the curtain move slightly out of the corner of his eye, and then Mother Miao lifted the curtain and came in.
The third girl subconsciously stopped talking.
Unlike her gentleness in front of the old lady just now, Mother Miao now had a serious expression and a sharp gaze. Her cold eyes swept over, making Chen Xiang's face turn pale immediately. She froze in place, not daring to move.
Not only Chen Xiang was frightened, but even the third girl was a little scared when she saw someone, and called out in a dry voice, "Mother Miao."
Mother Miao first greeted the Third Young Lady, and then said in a deep voice, "Young Lady, if you continue to listen to the words of those around you, you will be deceived when you marry into your husband's family."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiang turned pale and fell to his knees with a thud.
Madam Miao continued, "A lot of things were found in that Mrs. Zhou's room. She's a habitual thief. The old lady, considering she's a child of her family, didn't send her to the authorities for prosecution. She only gave her a beating and sent her back to the countryside. That was a respectable gesture."
"As for Linzhi..." Mother Miao paused, her expression complicated. She had known Linzhi's grandmother for a long time and had met her several times before. She had never imagined that the child had such a tragic fate, ending up in such a situation.
After a pause, she continued, "Doctor Shao examined her and confirmed she is truly demented. Mother Song even went to the old lady today to ask for leave to take care of Linzhi."
The third girl's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she almost smiled. Thinking of Mother Miao's presence, she suppressed her excitement and pretended to sigh, "Is this really true? Mother Song truly has a kind heart."
Mother Miao took in the Third Sister's expression and shook her head secretly. She thought the eldest sister was dignified and elegant, the second sister was kind and refined, and the fourth sister was also quiet, elegant and gentle, but the Third Sister's personality was completely different from her sisters.
But there is a difference between master and servant. Even if the old lady complained about the bad behavior of the third young lady and ordered her to teach her well, she could only reprimand the flattering maid and give her some advice, but she could not say anything more.
…
When Mrs. Zhou and her family were sent away from the mansion to their farm in the countryside, Sang Bai not only returned the stolen items to the Lin family but also brought three more boxes of things. He said with a smile, "These are gifts from the old lady and the third young lady. They say they are a reward for Sister Zhi for capturing a habitual thief."
Song Jiaoniang thanked him profusely, and only after the people had left did she murmur, "I think it was all a reward from the old lady, and she had to drag the third young lady into this."
Everyone in the mansion knew that since Linzhi fell ill, the third lady had neither sent anyone to visit or reward her, nor had she sent anyone to inquire about her condition.
Lin Sen nudged her with his elbow, and Song Jiaoniang stopped talking. She pursed her lips and opened the three boxes. One contained various cakes and a jar of honeydew, another contained Lingnan rice cakes, hawthorn strips, and dried meat, and another contained two rolls of brightly colored silk and a few Jiaozi notes.
Song Jiaoniang counted the items in the box. There were ten Jiaozi notes in total, each worth ten strings of cash, a total of one hundred strings of cash. She was shocked and exclaimed, "How can the old lady be so generous?"
Lin Sen's brows relaxed and he smiled. "It seems the old lady isn't as determined as you said. She seems to have agreed to our request to leave the house."
Song Jiaoniang was startled, but Lin Zhi reacted faster and said happily, "Mother, we don't need much money to eat and drink in the mansion, and the rewards from the mansion are mostly small change."
Unlike hired servants, house-born children received very little monthly salary, which mostly came in the form of various rewards, such as a handful of copper coins on weekdays, or various jewelry, cloths, and food. There were also red envelopes during various festivals, which mostly contained gold and silver beads for good fortune.
Jiaozi was especially rare. After all, Jiaozi needed to be exchanged for cash at a fixed place, and the amount was several strings of cash, so it was not suitable for rewarding servants. Instead, servants would privately take the copper coins they saved to other places to exchange them for coins so that they could keep them with them.
Song Jiaoniang suddenly realized what was going on. She was surprised, delighted, and a little puzzled: "The old lady was adamant about not allowing it before, so why did she suddenly change her mind? Is there something fishy going on?"
"This is all thanks to Sister Zhi." Lin Sen looked at his daughter with a smile. "She accidentally injured Mrs. Zhou in her confusion, which made the old lady wary."
In the past, when Lin Zhi pretended to be crazy, it was mostly Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang who suffered. The rest of the people in the mansion just watched coldly, and at most said a few words of pity.
It wasn't until she injured Mrs. Zhou that the whole family began to feel threatened. Although Mrs. Zhou had brought this upon herself, the whole family felt differently. Looking at Lin Zhi was like seeing someone hoarding saltpeter in the woodshed, wondering when it might catch fire.
"So that's how it is." Song Jiaoniang suddenly realized and remembered the incident again. She pulled her daughter and started to complain again: "You just let that Zhou woman drag you around and bully you like that, and you always say it's okay..."
Lin Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Mom, I'm just acting."
Song Jiaoniang knew that her daughter was acting, but she couldn't help but feel distressed and muttered to herself.
Lin Zhi changed the subject: "To be honest, I'm really lucky today. I originally thought I would have to endure it for a few more days, waiting for the old lady and the master to know that our family intends to leave the mansion before looking for an opportunity to attack."
"I never thought that my mother would come here with Sister Sang Bai, and Mrs. Zhou would directly bring the opportunity to my door. These two things actually collided with each other."
Sang Bai was the old lady's confidant and had watched the entire process, making it difficult for the old lady to raise any suspicion.
What's more, everyone in the kitchen is a witness, and everyone can tell the evil things that Mrs. Zhou did by taking advantage of her madness and stupidity.
When Lin Zhi thought of this, the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
Song Jiaoniang thought back to Mrs. Zhou's evil deeds and felt that her daughter was not to blame. She did not talk about it, but was happy: "Well, well, we are finally--"
Lin Sen raised his finger: "Shhhhhhh"
Song Jiaoniang understood and immediately covered her mouth, took a deep breath to calm her mind, and hurriedly reminded Lin Zhi to be careful with her words and actions, and not to reveal her true identity at the critical moment to prevent any changes.
Sure enough, a few days later, the old lady heard that Linzhi's condition had not improved and still required someone to watch over her at all times. Mother Song even wanted to lock her in the house, but she cried and howled, and the clanging sounds made passers-by feel uneasy.
Even Mrs. Li became worried after hearing the news that Linzhi had injured someone, fearing that she would go crazy and hurt herself and her daughter. She hurried to the old lady and urged her to let Linzhi and her family leave the house.
Over there, Xu Xiaoniang also patted Xi Zhizhou's shoulders and gently advised, "My dear, Steward Lin has been with you for many years. Even if he hasn't made any contributions, he has worked hard. You can't do without someone around you right now, but if you really replace Steward Lin directly, I'm afraid it will alienate others."
"I originally wanted to send them to a farm in the country."
"The master is a sensible man, but the people below him may not be." Xu Xiaoniang secretly spat in her heart. She has been in the mansion for more than ten years, and she has never seen any servant who went to the farm to recuperate come back to serve.
Xu Xiaoniang's expression remained unchanged as she sighed, "Look, Mrs. Zhou was also sent to the manor. Those who made mistakes before were also sent to the manor. I'm afraid some people are ignorant and are talking nonsense over there."
"It would be better to just let the whole family out and gain a good reputation."
"Also, I heard that the man the Third Miss was referring to was a slacker who was escorting cargo, but he wasn't a dishonest person. Our family can give Lin Zhi an extra dowry so she can marry him off in style and leave with us far away. It will also sound good when others hear about it."
At this point, Xu Xiaoniang first glanced at Xi Zhizhou's expression, then lowered her voice, "Eldest sister isn't in good health... If our family's reputation is ruined, I'm afraid they'll change their minds and not want Fourth sister to go there."
Xi Zhizhou frowned, made a vague decision in his heart, said a few words to Xu Xiaoniang and went back to the study.
Shaoyao helped Xu Xiaoniang into the house. Not long after, the fourth daughter came over and looked anxious when she saw her exhausted mother. "Why are you doing this, mother? Mother Song and her family aren't close to us, and you're sending gifts and speaking up for her like this."
Xu Xiaoniang weakly raised her hand and poked her daughter's forehead: "I'm not doing this for them, but for my second sister and you."
"Just a slave..."
"Whether they live or die after leaving the mansion is of course none of my business. However, this act of harsh treatment of servants may be tolerated in private, but if it is made public, it will affect the reputation of the mansion."
"Your second sister's life is not easy to begin with, and your eldest sister's family is such a wealthy family that they attach great importance to these things..." Xu Xiaoniang cheered up and took her daughter's hand to talk in detail, her heart and eyes full of her daughter's future.
Mrs. Li felt that being a second wife was difficult and did not want the third daughter to follow her path, while Mrs. Xu was eager for the fourth daughter to become a second wife. The eldest daughter had a dowry of 10,000 strings of cash, the second daughter only had 3,000 strings of cash, and the third daughter had Mrs. Li's dowry, which together was estimated to be 8,000 strings of cash.
But if you look at the dowry that the mansion has prepared for the fourth young lady, not only are the various items much worse, but even with the silver and money at the bottom of the box, it is estimated to be only around two thousand strings of cash.
If she is the eldest daughter's second wife, the mansion will give her more dowry for the sake of appearance. Besides, she will be an official's wife once she enters the house. What's wrong with that?
…
Just as Xu Xiaoniang was pulling her daughter aside and telling her her troubles, Xi Zhizhou paced around the study three times, then called Manager Huang over and asked him in detail.
Steward Huang reported, "In reply to the young master, I have sent people to drink and chat with him, and have made inquiries from all quarters. According to his fellow caravan members, this idler, while straightforward, is orphaned and illiterate. He spends lavishly, especially enjoying entertaining guests."
"This time, while escorting the goods, he had already spent most of the money he had paid before even returning to Bianjing."
Xi Zhizhou was surprised: "With such expenses and no parents, how can he become a transport escort?"
Manager Huang explained, "My dear, you may not know that although this man's parents died young, his family still left him a considerable inheritance. He is now working by using three tile-roofed houses in Bianjing as collateral to secure a contract with the brokerage firm."
Upon hearing this, Xi Zhizhou immediately understood the reason and was quite satisfied. He thought that although this man could not recognize a few words and had no chance of advancement, he would probably be an ordinary citizen all his life, but the maid was stupid and unable to work, so it could be considered an excellent marriage.
At least the other party had three houses in Bian Jing, so they had a place to stay. Besides, since he had no parents, he could just accommodate Lin Sen and his wife.
With the help of Lin Sen and his wife, life is not that difficult after all.
Xi Zhizhou made up his mind: "In that case, you go find that idle man tomorrow and send the betrothal gifts another day to finalize the matter."
Manager Huang heard the hidden meaning and knew that the young master had already asked to leave the house with Lin Sen's family.
He took the order and rushed to the Lin family with a smile on his face. He glanced at Lin Zhi, who was sitting on the kang and grinning foolishly, and bowed to Lin Sen and his wife, saying, "Congratulations, Brother Sen."
"well?"
"The master sent someone to investigate the idler, and now he has asked me to come and talk to Sen-ge'er."
Manager Huang narrowed his eyes and smiled gently. He omitted the idler's illiteracy and extravagant spending, explaining that he was from Bianjing, his parents orphaned, with a house, a strong physique, a cheerful personality, and many friends. "A good man like this is hard to find. It shows that Sister Zhi is very lucky. In the future, she will surely be able to turn misfortune into fortune, just like this time, and everything will go smoothly."
Steward Huang spoke in a whirlwind of words, adding at the end, "The master has already agreed to this marriage. Once the betrothal gifts are delivered and the marriage is finalized, you and your wife will be allowed to go with him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
