Chapter 37 The Pastimes of the Rich
Min Hui stayed for lunch at the Wang family's house, and spent the afternoon talking with Wang Zhangshi for a long time before leaving near dusk.
As he was leaving, he ran into Wang Mian, who was returning from his official duties.
"Uncle, you're back?"
Wang Mian looked at his nephew, whose eyes were red, and his expression was somewhat complicated.
He patted Min Hui on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Don't take what your aunt said to heart. Madam Qiao is a good person and has treated you well. Don't get involved with her."
"Uncle, I don't understand, why do you keep taking the Grand Madam's side?"
Min Hui couldn't help but ask Wang Mian, "Wasn't it because of the Wang family that Min Qiao was able to marry into the Marquis's mansion? Wasn't it because of my mother?"
“Yes. Without the Wang family and your mother, Madam Qiao would not have been able to enter the Xuanping Marquis’s residence,” Wang Mian said truthfully.
"Was her promise to take care of me before my mother died a lie?"
“That’s true.” Wang Mian shook his head; he was also present at the time.
"But it's true that she betrayed my mother's wishes and made her own son, Min Rong, the crown prince, isn't it?"
Wang Mian sighed and advised, "That was your father's decision, it has nothing to do with Madam Qiao. Don't put all the blame on Madam Qiao."
“When your family applied to appoint a heir apparent, you were only two years old, while your elder brother Min Rong was already a teenager, and he was raised by the old Marquis himself…”
Before Wang Mian could finish speaking, Min Hui interrupted him with a gloomy face, saying, "Uncle, I'm going back now. I'll come to see you and Aunt again next time."
With that, he stepped out of the palace.
Looking at his nephew's stubborn back, Wang Mian's eyes revealed deep worry.
I don't know when it started, but this child's heart was filled only with hatred and ambition.
***
Min Qiaoshi spent the whole day listening to operas at the Huajiaolou (Painted Corner Tower), and even had lunch there.
When they returned to the mansion, Madam Min was still somewhat reluctant to leave.
"No wonder the Painted Corner Tower has stood tall to this day, unmatched by any other. It truly has its own unique charm!"
"If Madam likes it, we can go again tomorrow." Granny Fang also liked it very much.
Back when she was still a young girl at home, whenever she attended someone's banquet, the other girls would play with the other girls, but Min Qiaoshi preferred to hang out with her grandmother among the old ladies and listen to opera together.
Fang Mama, Fang's personal maid, naturally had to stay by her side as well.
Over time, both master and servant became fans of the opera.
Unfortunately, after she married into the Marquis's household, the two of them never had a moment of peace.
When Min Qiaoshi married into the Marquis's mansion, the mansion was in dire straits and desperately needed a large sum of money to fill its financial hole. In addition, Wang, the principal wife, had been married into the mansion for five years and had not yet given birth to a single child.
Therefore, the Wang family recommended the daughter of a merchant surnamed Qiao, who was under the protection of the Wang family, to enter the household.
For the sake of the Marquis's mansion, the old lady did not object to Min Qiao's entry into the mansion, but she was very concerned that her eldest grandson was born to a merchant.
Therefore, when Min Qiao entered the mansion, the old lady gave her personal maid, Lin, to her son as a concubine.
After entering the mansion, the first thing Min Qiaoshi did was to compete with Concubine Lin for the emperor's favor and vie to give birth to the eldest son of the Marquis.
Fortunately, with the help of his first wife, Lady Wang, Lady Min Qiao was able to give birth to Min Rong first.
Lin's son, Min Yao, was born only one month after Min Rong.
After giving birth to her eldest son, Madam Min Qiao began helping Madam Wang wrest control of the household from the old lady.
After winning the power to manage the household, she naturally had to take charge of the Marquis's mansion for a long time, and also had to be wary of the old lady trying to trip her up from time to time.
It wasn't until the old lady passed away and Lin Shi finally settled down that Min Qiao Shi felt a little more at ease.
Then came Wang's pregnancy, childbirth, illness, and death. Min Qiao was busy managing the household and taking care of the children.
It can be said that after Min Qiaoshi married into the Marquis's mansion, she basically had no free time.
Now that we finally have some free time, we have to find all sorts of ways to have fun.
"We won't go tomorrow. Otherwise, the people at Huajiaolou might think we haven't had enough of taking advantage of them." Madam Min Qiao waved her hand with a smile.
Because of Zhao Zhiheng's matter, Manager Wu of the Huajiaolou promised that Min Qiaoshi would be able to go to the Huajiaolou to watch operas for free in the future.
These days, watching operas is a pastime for the wealthy.
Take, for example, the private room on the second floor that Madam Min Qiao requested for the opera today. It wasn't even the best room, yet the room fee alone cost twenty taels. Tea and snacks cost another ten taels, and lunch cost another ten taels. That's forty taels in total.
This is still the case where we just listen to whatever is being performed on the stage downstairs.
If you want to order a performance, that's a different price. The cheapest one starts at a hundred taels.
If you choose a famous actor or a very grand production, spending thousands of taels of silver is quite common.
To put it bluntly, the Painted Corner Tower was nothing short of a den of iniquity.
Despite the high cost of the place, Manager Wu said that Min Qiao would be able to visit for free from now on.
Wow, they're really rich and powerful!
Of course, Madam Min Qiao was not short of money.
"Let's go to the teahouse to listen to storytelling tomorrow."
Min Qiaoshi still vividly remembered the storytelling father-daughter duo that Wei Jia had invited back for her during the time she was recuperating from her illness.
I had heard Wei Jia mention it before, saying that they were regular storytellers at the Junyue Teahouse.
"Alright!" Granny Fang replied happily.
"Then I'll make the arrangements," Wei Jia echoed. But a hint of guilt flashed in her eyes.
Only Ajiu had an indifferent attitude; it didn't matter where she went. She didn't understand opera and had no interest in storytelling.
If we had to name her hobbies, would her love of eating count?
Today at the Painted Corner Tower, all three of Min Qiao's family members were listening to the opera with great interest, while she was intently competing with the pastries and dried fruits on the table, seeing whether she could eat them faster or run a servant to bring them.
Yes, she ate four plates of dried fruit, five plates of pastries, and three pots of milk flower tea all by herself.
They ate the total amount of food that Min Qiao and the other two had for lunch.
***
Madam Min happily made arrangements for tomorrow's itinerary.
At the Begonia Courtyard, when Madam Wu heard from her servants that Madam Min Qiao had spent forty taels of silver to go out to see a play today, she felt so distressed that even breathing hurt.
"How did it cost so much?"
Madam Wu clutched her chest, her expression agitated. "Oh my God, how can the old lady spend so much money? How could she spend forty taels of silver on just one trip? How can we possibly make a living like this?"
Seeing Wu's petty and stingy appearance, Granny Zhou couldn't help but twitch her lips.
If she told Madam Wu that Songhetang had spent two hundred taels to renovate the small kitchen and forty taels a month to hire a cook, Madam Wu would probably faint from fright.
"No, I have to talk to the Marquis about this later. If the old lady keeps spending like this, won't she squander all the Marquis's fortune?"
Overwhelmed with grief, Madam Wu, as if remembering something, asked Granny Zhou for confirmation: "How much money is left in the Marquis's account?"
Granny Zhou flipped through the account book in her hand, "Eighteen taels."
"How much?" Mrs. Wu could hardly believe her ears.
So Granny Zhou repeated it again: "Eighteen taels."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com