"The Zhen family is a family of upright officials. He will definitely test whether you are qualified to enter his family's private school. What other conditions could he possibly ask for?"
Sui Sui shook her head. "Yes, Brother Jingxiu said that tuition fees don't have to be paid, but new poems must be hung in the study for everyone to read."
“Mother, Uncle Nangong and Brother Jingxiu have agreed that they will send me to the private school in a few days.”
When talking about going to a private school, Sui Sui's face beamed with anticipation.
...
Jiang Zhengming prepared generous gifts and went to the Wu family to pay his respects to Old Madam Wu.
After hearing Jiang Zhengming's explanation, Madam Wu asked Mother Yan to take back her third grandson's birth certificate.
With a magnanimous wave of his hand, he said, "Since Miss Jiang is no longer here, then this old woman was simply blind and made a mistake. This marriage is no longer valid."
Seeing that Madam Wu showed no sign of blaming him, Jiang Zhengming breathed a sigh of relief.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jiang Zhengming got up to take his leave, and Madam Wu instructed the housekeeper to see him off.
She turned to Yan Mama, who was serving her, and said, "What's going on with the Jiang family? They insist on saying their perfectly good daughter is dead, and they insist on promoting that illegitimate daughter who can't be presented to the public."
Madam Yan presented the tea with both hands. "Does the old lady still remember what Miss Jiang said about her bad luck?"
"When a concubine becomes a stepmother, the legitimate daughter is kicked out of the house. Isn't that a misfortune? I don't know if Lord Jiang is too muddle-headed, or if that stepmother is too cunning."
Madam Wu took the tea and sipped it. "Send someone to find out about Miss Jiang. I've only ever misjudged one person in my life, but this time I'm absolutely right. That girl is capable of managing a household. Regardless of whether she's from the Minister's family or not, my Wu family insists on marrying her."
The mere mention of her useless eldest daughter-in-law gave Old Madam Wu a headache.
While others were crestfallen when confined to their homes, she was fine; she played the zither in the courtyard, showing no sign of remorse or repentance.
In Madam Wu's opinion, she seemed to be enjoying a moment of peace and quiet.
"Why doesn't the old lady let the eldest madam go out with this old servant to find out about Miss Jiang? That would be a way to make amends for what she did wrong."
"Okay, let's do it this way. Make her pay more attention to people when she sees them. If she messes up again, I... I will definitely punish her again."
"Oh! Madam is kind. Madam will surely handle things well this time. Madam, just wait for the good news."
Madam Yan smiled warmly and quickly withdrew to inform the First Madam.
The First Madam was usually kind and generous, so she was happy to say a few good words for her in front of the Old Madam.
"What? You want me to go find someone? Where am I supposed to find someone? Is the Ancestor deliberately making things difficult for me?"
The First Lady showed no joy upon hearing that her confinement had been lifted.
"Oh my! My lady, you take me out for a stroll in the streets all the time. The old lady didn't tell you to find the person in a day or two, did she?"
Not to mention the old lady's headache, even Madam Yan had a headache from seeing the first lady's stubbornness.
The First Madam, with her hand over a lotus seedpod, looked out at the blazing sun and said with a sullen expression, "In this sweltering heat, it's better to stay indoors."
Mother Yan: "..."
She finally understood what the old lady meant when she always scolded the first wife as being utterly useless.
It's not that she's hopeless; it's that the first wife simply doesn't want to climb over the wall.
The personal maidservant bowed to Madam Yan and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Madam Yan. I will accompany Madam to look for the person. Even if we can't find them, we will search for them every day. Please put in a good word for Madam Yan in front of the matriarch."
After Madam Yan left, Madam Wu asked the maid, "Do you have a solution?"
“Madam! Our ancestors didn’t tell us to go out and sunbathe. Let’s find a teahouse near the street, sit in a private room on the second floor, and glance at the street every now and then. As for whether we can find Miss Jiang, that depends on fate.”
"Is that okay? Then why am I worrying? Hurry up and get ready, let's go out for tea."
Seeing that the First Madam had come to her senses, the maid hurriedly went to instruct the coachman to prepare to leave.
So, Madam Wu would take two maids out of the mansion every day to drink tea.
She went out every morning and returned home every evening, skipping the morning and evening greetings. During the day, even Grand Commandant Wu found it difficult to see her.
...
Two days later, Nangong Zeyue excitedly came to Xingyue Courtyard to find Jiang Shuyue.
He pushed a stack of silver notes in front of Jiang Shuyue, "Quickly take this, this is Sui Sui's dowry for his wife."
"Sit down and tell me, Uncle Lin came out of the palace again yesterday. He originally wanted to see you, but I sent Lan'er to your courtyard to look for you. We didn't see a single person. Were you busy usurping the throne?"
Nangong Zeyue was amused by Jiang Shuyue's words and burst into laughter.
He sat down with a flick of his robe, his eyebrows and eyes revealing a carefree and unrestrained air. "Sui Sui's mother, you're really funny. Look at me, where do I look like an emperor? Sui Sui is still young. If he wants to be that damn emperor, I'll go to the palace and get the imperial seal for him."
Jiang Shuyue actually believed him. This guy was incredibly good to Sui Sui, and he would always find a way to get her anything she liked.
Jiang Shuyue glared at him. "You think you can become emperor just because you have the imperial seal?"
"Tell me, what's the deal with this silver note? Did you two win it in a cockfight?"
Nangong Zeyue sighed, “Sigh! You found out all of this. Sui Sui is too honest. I told him not to tell you, but he still spilled the beans.”
Nangong Zeyue looked annoyed.
Qiu Ju's eyes lit up as she looked at the thick stack of silver notes. "Young Master Nangong, you can win so much silver from cockfighting? When are you going again?"
Jiang Shuyue: "..." Oh no, this girl has also become obsessed with money.
Nangong Zeyue said embarrassedly, "The cockfighting arena closed down, so I took over the place and turned it into a place for everyone to play dice."
"Cough cough..."
Jiang Shuyue choked on a mouthful of tea, nearly choking to death.
Does this guy think she doesn't know what playing dice is? He's even going around in circles with his words.
Qiuju quickly patted her back.
Seeing that Jiang Shuyue was getting anxious, Nangong Zeyue quickly explained, "I run a legitimate business, and I've registered it with the authorities. I treat everyone honestly, young and old, and no one dares to cheat in my establishment."
Jiang Shuyue caught her breath, patted the stack of silver notes on the table, and asked, "Then tell me, what does this have to do with Sui Sui? Sui Sui is my son. I still have the money to pay for his wedding. How can I let you pay for it?"
"This silver note, well, it all started with the cockfighting bet." Nangong Zeyue glanced guiltily at Jiang Shuyue's face, seeing that Jiang Shuyue didn't glare at him.
He mustered his courage and continued, "You know how lucky I am, Sui Sui. I haven't done 'that' in a long time, and I don't have much money in my pocket."
"One day, Sui Sui and I went to Juxian Pavilion for a meal. When we came out, we passed by the cockfighting area. There were people gathered there in layers, it was so lively."
Seeing Jiang Shuyue take another sip of tea, seemingly calm and composed.
Nangong Zeyue's courage grew considerably, and she said with a grin, "Guess what? There were too many people, and I was afraid of stepping on Sui Sui, so I let him sit on my shoulders to watch the fun."
"As a result, every year I kept telling myself to bet on the white rooster and win."
Qiuju was stunned and pressed for an answer.
"And then what? Did they win?"
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