Chapter 54 Helping the Madam to Hide the Truth from Mother
Xie Yunshuo...
Today, this grandson of the general's family is the focus of everyone's attention and is considered a rising star.
It is the only hope for the Xie family to move to the next level.
If he returned in triumph and held a high position at a young age, these aunts, even if they felt unfair and jealous, would have to admit that they would all enjoy the benefits with him around.
Sourness and jealousy, pride and relief, these two mentalities coexist and are unprecedentedly strong.
They are from the same mansion and live under the same roof. One of them was promoted and held a high position at a young age.
How can others be equal?
The more upset your mentality is, the harder it will be to remain calm when facing the eldest son.
Everyone looked at Jiang Si and Xia Rongyi with a sense of melancholy and reluctance in their hearts.
The general and the old lady had advocated for a grand banquet for Xie Yunshuo, and they had asked them to help organize it...
Family members should support each other. After all, they are from the same family and they all prosper together. Ethically, everyone knows that they should agree to this.
But Xia Rongyi meant for them to just mind their own business and go and watch the scene.
Even if there is a shortage of manpower, they should not be treated like this. They are not even given the right to manage things. What's the difference between this and asking people to work for free?
When such unfair thoughts come to mind, even human rationality disappears.
Both sides had their own stances, and the atmosphere was tense. Jiang Si's interruption made everyone suspicious and curious.
What can the couple say?
The marriage was arranged by the emperor's order. Even if the two enemies who once didn't get along are getting along better now, how much better can they be?
The Third Madam's expression remained unchanged. No matter what Jiang Si said, if she wanted her to agree to what Xia Rongyi proposed today, she would have to give her a big benefit.
Otherwise, don't even think about ordering her around.
The other two ladies looked at the third lady calmly.
Everyone was silent, but they were also nervous and prepared to listen to Jiang Si's words.
After all, she is Xie Yunshuo's first wife. Xie Yunshuo's background is uncertain, and she has no idea about it.
Being watched quietly by so many elders, Jiang Si spoke slowly and leisurely as if she was talking about everyday things.
"Yun Shuo said that if you ask him about his confidence in this expedition, he has a 100% chance of success. If you ask about his chance of success, he has a 50% chance of success. It's a good thing that the young general is full of vigor and enthusiasm. He is now diligently training, and his martial arts skills are becoming more and more advanced. I have watched him several times and I know that he is brave and wise. This time, he is ordered by the emperor to go on the expedition, and he will definitely be able to annihilate the enemy, defeat the Turks, and pacify the border. Yun Shuo told me that among the three generations of the Xie family, he is the only one who has emerged from the ground, while his cousins are still young. This is actually a good thing. In the future, when he earns military merits and is promoted to a higher position, the difficult and dangerous situation of father, son and brother fighting in the battlefield will surely change. If his cousins can enter the court and become civil servants, wouldn't that be better than fighting in the battlefield and risking their lives?"
Jiang Si spoke every word, and no one else expected that she would say something so taboo, or even treasonous.
But behind closed doors, we are all family, so it is normal to say these things, and everyone wants to listen.
She spoke as if it was a matter of course, as if she was just chatting about family matters, leaving the group of ladies who were used to speaking in a reserved manner at a loss for how to respond.
Every word Jiang Si spoke was sincere, although only the first sentence was true.
The only thing he said was Xie Yunshuo's estimate of the chances of winning, and the rest of the words were made up by her on the spot.
Regarding the current situation, Jiang Si doesn't think this is a lie.
The important event of the mansion banquet at this critical juncture must be handled well. My mother-in-law is unwilling to give in, and the Shunfeng banquet cannot afford to fail.
Several aunts didn't want to work for nothing.
She is the daughter-in-law of the eldest wife, so naturally she stands on Xia Rongyi's side.
What these aunts are thinking is nothing more than being unwilling to lower themselves to be slaves. They all want to gain benefits and don't want to be used by others.
In other words, this is Xie Yunshuo's business, and even more so the Xie family's business. It is only natural for all the ladies to contribute together. It is not the mother-in-law's private matter, so why can't it be mentioned?
Furthermore, Xia Rongyi's concerns are real.
Since the sisters-in-law who are in charge are worried, it is naturally more reliable for them to do the job by the housekeeper who has been trained for many years.
But we are really short of manpower.
For Xia Rongyi, the mistress of the household, asking her sisters-in-law to help manage household affairs and promising them generous rewards would be putting the cart before the horse.
As a result, both sides hold their own views and are incompatible with each other.
If this matter cannot be handled properly, I will be blamed by several families.
Jiang Si was used to doing things in a swift and decisive manner, without paying attention to details.
In her opinion, there is a way to settle this matter quickly without violating the wishes of her mother-in-law and making the aunts willing. It is just not a glorious way.
However, Jiang Si didn't care about so many things. She just wanted the final result, so she chose to do whatever it takes.
She said these words with a smile on her face, looking calm.
Everyone in the room saw her being so calm, who would have thought that only the first sentence was true.
After these words were spoken, the aunts all fell into deep thought.
If Xie Yunshuo returns victorious, people in other rooms will naturally benefit as well, and everyone understands this.
But after all, there is a layer of relationship between them, and with Xie Yunshuo's temper, it doesn't seem like he would promote others.
Military commanders rely on their own abilities, and most of them are frank and rigid.
But Jiang Si told them that Xie Yunshuo was thinking long-term.
Today is a peaceful and prosperous era. Except for the border areas, there are not many wars and there are not many opportunities for military generals to establish themselves.
If he had been granted an official position and a title, the Xie family would no longer be the same as before.
The descendants of other branches may also have the opportunity to have other options.
this……
Jiang Si just smiled and said nothing, quietly waiting for her aunts to make their own decision.
She lowered her head and took a sip of tea, without any panic of having told a lie.
Even Xia Rongyi didn't notice that she was looking at her several times.
Because what Jiang Si said was indeed reasonable. Although it was not what Xie Yunshuo considered, it was not unrealistic.
Xia Rongyi looked left and right, but couldn't tell that she was the one who said this.
The reason why Jiang Si was not panicked was because she had her own theory. She and Xie Yunshuo were already husband and wife, and husband and wife are one.
As long as she tells Xie Yunshuo about it afterwards and lets him know, it will count as what he said.
Because she didn't promise anything, nor did she agree to anything, she just said she would consider it.
No matter how the aunts extend the idea, that is their own idea and it is certainly not considered cheating.
The hall was still silent.
Xia Rongyi looked a little unhappy, but before Jiang Si could find another way to talk, she moved slightly and changed her sitting position.
His expression eased slightly and he took up the topic again.
"I hope my sisters-in-law will forgive me. I didn't want to burden you with any of this trouble. There are over 230 guests registered for the Shunfeng Banquet. With so many guests, I'm worried we won't be able to entertain them well enough, so I resorted to this unwise measure."
Since Jiang Si had already made her point clear and used future events to pave the way for the ladies of the several rooms to build hope, Xia Rongyi took a step back, slowed down her attitude, softened it a bit, and brought up the issue again in a nice tone.
Xia Rongyi rarely made such a prostrate posture and spoke in such an apologetic tone.
With this step, several ladies who had been moved but were reluctant to change their attitudes took the initiative to just go down the slope.
The third lady put on another smile, a faint one, and seemed particularly understanding.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. This is a major event for the family. We will work together to handle it. Just let us know what needs to be done."
The fifth lady is the youngest and is the most impatient.
She was looking forward to the good things that would happen to her husband and children in the future, so she said with a smile, "Of course not. My eldest sister-in-law has been in charge of the household for many years and is very thorough. We have no experience in managing household chores. This is an emergency, and the banquet is of such great importance that it is inappropriate for us to make the decision. It would be better for us to do what we can to avoid disrupting the order of the banquet."
What she said made the other two ladies feel uncomfortable.
The Third and Fourth Madams both glanced at her dimly.
Everyone knew that the Fifth Master was of mediocre ability and the Fifth Lady could only rely on her two underage sons, so Jiang Si's words were the most tempting to her.
She was naturally swayed by the wind.
With the cooperation of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, this troublesome matter was solved smoothly.
Xia Rongyi sorted out all the matters and personally saw her three sisters-in-law off.
Looking back at Jiang Si, the more I looked, the more satisfied I felt.
Jiang Si could also see that her mother-in-law was in a good mood, but Xia Rongyi only said, "On the day of the banquet, many wives of high-ranking officials, newly-minted nobles, and prominent families will be attending. On that day, you must dress up and look as respectable as possible. I have a lot of fine things I collected in my youth. I have something to do, so I'll have Nanny Qin take you there. Feel free to choose whatever you like; it's yours."
Jiang Si knew that her mother-in-law was aloof and could not say sweet words to praise others, so she was expressing her attitude in this way.
So she happily responded, "Mother really loves me. This is for the sake of the Xie family's reputation. I won't be polite."
Then he followed Nanny Qin and went to the warehouse, without disturbing Xia Rongyi while she was making important arrangements.
Jiang Si knew that there were some things she could listen to and some she couldn't, and she was very sensible.
Her attitude was unexpected for someone like Xia Rongyi.
She was cautious and curious about what Jiang Si would choose when she went to the warehouse.
After Nanny Qin came back with a reply, she reported it to Xia Rongyi tremblingly.
"Young Madam chose two filigree gold flower-shaped hairpins inlaid with gemstones, two gold-inlaid kingfisher hairpins with phoenix patterns, a jade ornament with two flowers inlaid with gemstones and pearls, a gold agate and black jade necklace, and a pair of white jade openwork crabapple earrings..."
This was reported in a series.
She thought Xia Rongyi would be dissatisfied with Jiang Si's greed and tyranny, but Xia Rongyi laughed instead.
"This Ah Si is truly outspoken and frank, and does what she says. I didn't realize it before, but now I'm actually becoming more and more satisfied with this daughter-in-law."
Xia Rongyi had seen many cunning people, but this was the first time she had seen someone who was smart and cunning but also open and sincere.
Compared with the jewelry worth thousands of gold that Jiang Si took away, Xia Rongyi was more concerned about the big trouble that Jiang Si helped to solve today.
Besides, Jiang Si took her jewelry under another pretext: it was to support the Xie family on the day of the banquet. She took it boldly, not entirely for herself.
How could she be angry?
Jiang Si stole the show and got something for nothing, returning to the yard with many good things that she had only seen but never touched before.
I'm waiting for Xie Yunshuo to come back and tell him what happened today so that I can string together my confession and avoid letting anything slip in front of the aunts later.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yunshuo returned home early that day.
Because I had something important to discuss, I went to Zhixingzhai to see Xia Rongyi first.
After finishing his story, Xia Rongyi hadn't seen him for many days, so the mother and son had a chat.
Everything was normal until today.
Xia Rongyi asked Xie Yunshuo, "When did Yunshuo develop such a broad perspective, even considering the future of the court and the Xie family members after you fulfill the imperial order?"
Xie Yunshuo looked puzzled. "What? What did Mother mean?"
At this time, Xia Rongyi had not yet realized that Jiang Si would make up a lie. She just thought that she had not made her words clear, and Xie Yunshuo did not realize it.
So she told him everything that had happened in recent days, including the negotiations she had conducted with the ladies of the other houses.
Xie Yunshuo was surprised and his expression froze.
But he immediately realized that if his mother knew that Jiang Si had made up a lie, it would be bad for her.
So he pretended to remember, then suddenly realized, "So that's it. Yes, I never thought about it before because my son hadn't established himself yet, so I couldn't think about that. But things will be different from now on. Although I'm still young, I need to have a broad perspective and take on the responsibility of making the Xie family prosperous."
Xia Rongyi didn't notice his change of mind and smiled with relief.
"You two are both fine. Mother is much more relieved now. It would be even better if you could announce the good news soon and expand the Xie family."
Xie Yunshuo nodded and said, "It will come when it's time."
The meaning is to let the mother not be anxious, so as not to let this expectation fall on Jiang Si. If she fails to get pregnant soon, she will have to bear a heavy burden.
This idea almost came to him suddenly, and was all Xie Yunshuo's subconscious thought.
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