The next day.
Not wanting to be criticized, the Prime Minister's residence quickly dispatched a sedan chair to carry Jiang Jiaojiao into the mansion.
When Aunt Chen heard from the servants that Jiang Jiaojiao had not brought her dowry, she immediately sent her maid to find out what was going on.
According to the customs of Wanling Kingdom, concubines do not receive betrothal gifts, but legitimate daughters receive dowries when they marry. The Minister's family should provide a dowry when their daughters marry.
In the side courtyard, Jiang Jiaojiao lifted her veil and saw that the bed curtains and quilt were all pink. She then threw the veil hard to the ground.
"Miss, this is no longer the Minister's residence. Our every move could be observed. If you have something on your mind, don't reveal it." Caiyan glanced at the door and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that no maids came in.
Jiang Jiaojiao looked around and saw that the furnishings in the room were not as nice as those in the Minister's mansion.
"Is this courtyard very remote?"
Caiyan lowered her eyes. "Miss, don't worry about where you live now. As long as the young master treats you well, what does it matter if it's a little remote?"
The sedan chair entered the mansion through a side gate. After entering the mansion, they arrived at their destination quickly. Side gates are usually located in a corner of the backyard. Jiang Jiaojiao hadn't expected to live in a very nice courtyard, but she didn't expect the courtyard assigned to her to be so remote.
She walked to the window and looked out. There were a few trees outside the window, and not far away was a courtyard wall with undulating heights. There was no one in sight outside the window.
She looked away and asked again, "Have you seen the son-in-law?"
Caiyan shook her head, "I didn't see it. I only saw that there was only one maid in the courtyard. The courtyard was deserted and there wasn't even a big red 'double happiness' character pasted up."
"You audacious lowly servant! Third Master is your master, not your son-in-law. If you can't even tell the difference, how can you serve in this household?"
Before Caiyan could finish speaking, a maid dressed in blue appeared at the door with a cold and stern look on her face.
The maid's triangular eyes gleamed with disdain as she coldly gazed into the room.
Jiang Jiaojiao glared at the maid with displeasure. "How we address him in my own room is our business. What's it to you?"
Jiang Jiaojiao immediately regretted her words. This was the Prime Minister's residence, and as a concubine, she should be grateful that the servants didn't make things difficult for her.
She composed herself, softened her tone, and said stiffly, "What I mean is that I will address him as Third Master in public, so as not to make things difficult for him."
"The old lady and the first wife in the mansion are very particular about rules, so Aunt Jiang should keep to herself."
The maid's tone was full of warning, and Caiyan quickly curtsied to the maid, "Thank you for your trouble, Granny. My young lady is new here, please be tolerant."
The maid walked into the room with a stern face and glanced around. There was an extra makeup box in front of the dressing mirror, and indeed there was no dowry in the room.
The maid gave Jiang Jiaojiao a perfunctory curtsy and placed the key on the table. "This is the key to the storeroom of Wangchun Courtyard. Aunt Jiang, please keep it safe."
Jiang Jiaojiao gestured to Caiyan to put the key away.
She quickly composed herself, nodded slightly to the maid, and asked Caiyan to give her a silver ingot as a reward.
The maid's expression softened considerably after receiving the reward money. She bowed and said, "Thank you for the reward, Aunt Jiang. Aunt Chen was worried that you would have nowhere to put your dowry, so she specially sent this old servant to deliver the storeroom key."
"You mean there's nothing in the storeroom?" Jiang Jiaojiao finally realized that the Wei family didn't know she had been demoted back to a concubine's daughter and still thought she had a generous dowry.
“This courtyard has been empty since the last concubine died, and the storeroom is also empty, so please feel free to use it, Aunt Jiang.”
"Has someone died in this courtyard?" Jiang Jiaojiao was so shocked she almost jumped up.
The maid said expressionlessly, "Aunt Jiang, there's no need to be afraid. That happened several years ago."
After the maid left, Jiang Jiaojiao waved to Caiyan, "Go and find out which concubine in this courtyard died. Also, go and ask the steward for some red silk."
It's too unlucky. Living in a courtyard where someone has died is unsettling. Hanging some red silk to ward off evil is better than leaving it bare.
There was no wedding night, and the groom was nowhere to be seen. Jiang Jiaojiao was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
Caiyan put down the storeroom key and went out to inquire.
Jiang Jiaojiao looked at the storeroom key in dejection. Her father was so angry with her that he refused to see her, let alone give her a dowry.
The dressing box on her dressing table contained all her belongings, including some valuable jewelry, her mother's secret savings, and her own leftover pocket money. In total, it amounted to only one thousand taels of silver notes and some loose silver.
The house was cold and quiet; Jiang Jiaojiao hadn't had a proper meal since yesterday.
Hunger struck her, and she looked at the dried fruit plate on the table, which contained only peanuts, walnuts, and pine nuts.
Jiang Jiaojiao secretly sneered at the absence of dates and lotus seeds, which symbolize the wish for an early birth of a son. Was this because they were afraid she would give birth to an illegitimate eldest son?
She recalled being disturbed in the private room of the teahouse yesterday. Wei Mingzhou withdrew halfway, missing that final hurdle, and naturally, she would not have had the opportunity to get pregnant.
She secretly vowed that she would not do as that old hag wished, and would definitely give birth to a son born out of wedlock, so that when the family was divided, she might be promoted to the position of legitimate wife because of her son.
A short while later, Caiyan returned, carrying two red ribbons in her hands.
"Miss, I've found out that one of the Prime Minister's concubines used to live in this courtyard. I heard that the concubine died of illness."
"Have you asked your son-in-law when he's coming?"
In the mansions of noble families in the capital, it's common for women to die. Dying from illness isn't so scary; what Jiang Jiaojiao fears most is dying by hanging.
She had heard her wet nurse tell a story about how the tongue of a hanged person sticks out very long.
She was afraid that if she opened her eyes in the middle of the night, she would see a long-tongued ghost standing in front of her bed.
Caiyan put down the red silk in her hand, her face devoid of any joy. "The maids and servants all avoid me. I finally found a simple-looking young servant who said that the Third Young Master went to the Old Madam's courtyard."
"Never mind, since no one will pass on the message, I won't go to see the old lady. Hang one of these silk strips by the bed and another by the door."
Concubines are not allowed to go to the main room, and Jiang Jiaojiao didn't want to make a fool of herself. It was still early, and Wei Mingzhou would probably come to the courtyard to spend the night.
The dinner that was delivered consisted of two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. Jiang Jiaojiao was extremely hungry, so she ate it all without being picky.
Caiyan had seen what kind of life the concubines in the Minister's mansion lived. Today, having two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes was considered good. If the young lady lost favor, she would probably only be able to dream of such simple meals in the future.
Wei Mingzhou finally arrived late, at three quarters past 7 PM.
As the saying goes, even a brand new toilet can be a rare treat for three days, and Wei Mingzhou was no exception.
As soon as he entered the room, he wanted to hug Jiang Jiaojiao and take her to bed.
"Sanlang, how cruel you are! I, a perfectly good legitimate daughter, have become your concubine. You didn't promise me this in the first place." Jiang Jiaojiao suppressed her spoiled nature and hugged Wei Mingzhou's neck, acting coquettishly.
“Jiao’er, you have to understand Sanlang! My stepmother is strict, and my grandmother is even stricter with the younger generation. Now that I’m not married, Jiao’er is my wife.”
As Wei Mingzhou spoke, he acted as if he were visiting a brothel, eagerly reaching out to tug at Jiang Jiaojiao's pink dress.
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