Chapter 345 Madam Zheng Acts as Matchmaker
Madam Min Qiao was so engrossed in thinking about what the Min family was up to that the whole journey that she didn't come to her senses until the carriage stopped and Ah Shuang called her twice.
"Grandma, we're home."
Ah Shuang lifted the carriage curtain, and the coachman had indeed already placed the footrests under the carriage.
Wen Xiu got out of the car first and reached out to help Min Qiaoshi out of the car.
"Is everything alright at the manor?" Madam Min asked the steward, Amo, as she walked inside.
After the plan to subdue the beggars failed, Amo improved his martial arts skills by following the old woodcutter and others, while also learning to be a manager.
Madam Min wanted to train Amo to become the head steward of the Qiao family, and she also told Amo about this idea.
Amo was overjoyed and became even more diligent in his work.
Upon hearing Madam Min's inquiry, he quickly replied, "Nothing happened in the manor while you were away, but we received three letters from the capital."
“One letter was written by the eldest young lady, one by Steward Yang, and another by Madam Zheng from the Duke of Jin’s mansion.”
Upon hearing that three letters had arrived from the capital, Madam Min Qiao's eyes lit up with a smile, and she asked with delight, "Where are the letters now?"
Amo replied, "The letter has already been given to Ajiu, the girl in the old lady's room."
"I understand. You may leave."
"Yes. I'll take my leave."
Upon returning to the main courtyard, before Min Qiaoshi could even ask, Ajiu immediately handed over the three letters to her.
"Grandma, you just came back from outside and you're covered in bad luck. Why don't you wash up first, change into some clean and comfortable clothes, and then read the letter slowly?"
Ah Shuang smiled and reminded him, "The letter is right here; it's not going to run away."
"If you are really in a hurry, why don't you wash up and change your clothes, and I'll read the letter to you?"
Madam Min smiled and nodded, "Alright, it's been a long time since I heard you read to me, I've been missing it."
Upon hearing this, Ah San, who had brought in hot water, immediately pouted and said in a feigned aggrieved tone, "Grandma, are you saying I'm not as good at studying as Ah Shuang? I won't stand for that!"
As she spoke, Ah San wrung out a handkerchief and washed Min Qiao's face and hands.
Madam Min smiled and deliberately said, "To be honest, you're a bit inferior to A-Shuang."
Back then, in order to help her study well, A Shuang went to the teahouse with Wei Jia and studied diligently with the storyteller.
As for Ah San, well, he can only recognize all the characters.
Compared to Ah Shuang, who could read medical books like storybooks with great intonation, Ah San was far inferior.
To say she's inferior to Ashuang is to be kind to Asan.
Hearing this, Ah San wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, she cheerfully replied, "Then I'm the third most capable maid by the old lady's side!"
"At least when I read to the old lady, I don't mispronounce the words."
In A-San's mind, Wei-Jia, who was born into an official family, was omniscient and omnipotent, and it was no wonder that she was ranked first.
The scholar's daughter, Ashuang, was literate and well-mannered from a young age, and ranked second in her class.
Well, next up is her. Because she's the only one among the remaining girls who dares to say she won't misread the book.
When A Shuang offered to teach the maids at Songhe Hall to read, she studied very hard.
Before she was sold by her family, her younger brother was in school. She envied him greatly for being able to study, while she could only work, work, work, with endless chores every day. Despite this, she was eventually sold by her family because they couldn't afford to send her brother to school.
Therefore, when A Shuang offered to teach everyone to read, she studied very hard.
It turns out that reading really is useful.
So, Ah Shuang went to work as a head maid, and the easy task of studying fell to her, the only one who could recognize all the characters.
"Yes, you're amazing!" Madam Min Qiao replied with a smile.
Of the dozen or so maids we bought, apart from Wei Jia and Ashuang who were literate from the start, this was the only one who had a great passion for reading and writing.
Otherwise, we wouldn't have let her take over Ah Shuang's job in the first place.
While the master and servants were chatting and laughing, Madam Min finished washing up and changing her clothes.
Now there was no need to argue about who should read the letter to her. Madam Min sat down in the armchair and picked up the letter to read it herself.
The first letter that Madam Min Qiao read was from Madam Zheng.
Madam Zheng primarily inquired about whether she had encountered any dangers on her journey to Huizhou, asking if she was adapting well there and if she had been mistreated. The entire message was filled with words of concern.
It wasn't until the very end of the letter that something was mentioned: that he wanted to act as matchmaker for Yang An and Fang Mama's eldest granddaughter, Yang Honglan, specifically for Bai's uncle's nephew.
Bai was the daughter of a seventh-rank official, but unfortunately her birth mother died early, and she grew up in hardship with her stepmother.
Later, she unexpectedly gained the favor of Lady Zheng and married the current Duke of Jin. It could be said that she rose to prominence overnight.
However, before Bai Shi married into the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, she experienced the absurd incident where Bai Shi's stepmother tried to replace her with her own daughter to marry into the Jinguo Duke's Mansion.
Even after being explicitly rejected by Madam Zheng, Bai's stepmother still clung to a sliver of hope and sent her own daughter to the wedding bridge on the day of the wedding.
However, before the wedding ceremony, the cautious Madam Zheng exposed his deception in public without any mercy and sent him back.
Then they sent people to carry Bai Shi back to the Duke of Jin's mansion.
From then on, Bai Shi completely severed ties with her maternal family. Because of her indulgence of her stepmother's actions, Bai Shi's father was also sent to a remote post by Madam Zheng through her connections. He could never return to the capital.
However, her maternal uncle's relatives treated her quite well.
In the early years, when Bai was suffering at home, her uncle's family did consider taking her back. However, Bai's stepmother was a hypocrite who pretended to be nice to Bai in front of outsiders, but then mistreated her behind her back.
Bai's father was even more clueless, believing whatever his stepmother said.
What does it mean that the stepmother said that Bai Shi had both a father and a mother, but went to live with her uncle?
Bai refused to allow it, and her father also felt that it would be a loss of face for him to raise his daughter in her uncle's house. So he immediately rejected Bai's uncle's request.
Furthermore, Bai's maternal uncle's family were only members of the Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination). Compared to Bai's father, a genuine second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and a seventh-rank official in the capital, they were significantly inferior.
The Bai family wouldn't allow it, and Bai's uncle couldn't forcibly take her away. He could only send his wife to visit Bai's wife from time to time.
Unfortunately, Bai's stepmother was too formidable. Every time Bai's aunt came to visit, Bai's stepmother would give her a hard time, speaking in a sarcastic and unpleasant manner. Occasionally, when she was in a bad mood, she would even make veiled insults in front of Bai's aunt, using extremely offensive language.
As time went on, Bai's aunt became less and less willing to visit the Bai family, and her visits became less and less frequent. Eventually, she wouldn't visit for several months at a time.
It wasn't until Bai was fortunate enough to marry into the Duke of Jin's family and her father was sent away from the capital that Bai's maternal uncle's family became her only relatives in the capital. Only then did the two families resume their ties.
Originally, Madam Zheng didn't have a good impression of Bai's maternal uncle's family. It wasn't until she got to know them that she discovered they were actually a good family.
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