Chapter 236 Gift Giving
After two days of peace and tranquility, it was the day when the prince of Wucheng was going to marry Chen Wu.
The second wife was driven out of the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, and the old lady was imprisoned. Time was tight and there was no time to prepare for the wedding banquet. The Marquis Wucheng's Mansion was unwilling to postpone the wedding date. Of course, the second master and the second lady did not dare to do so either.
The old lady suffered a stroke on the night she was imprisoned. Her mouth and eyes became crooked, and half of her body was paralyzed. She might die of illness in the death row of the Ministry of Justice one day.
The old lady was imprisoned. She was also Shen Wu's biological grandmother. If the old lady died suddenly, Shen Wu would have to mourn for her out of both emotion and reason.
The second branch has a bad reputation. The second master had his leg broken by someone, and the second young master is even more notorious for his sedation. Even if the matter is settled, there is no guarantee that this marriage will not encounter twists and turns. The sooner she gets married, the more at ease the second master and the second lady will be.
The Marquis of Wucheng's son is not very good, and if Chen Wu marries him, she will never have a happy marriage in this life. However, the Marquis of Wucheng's Mansion is quite powerful, and at least she can still enjoy a life of wealth and glory. If the king can accomplish great things, the Marquis of Wucheng's Mansion will also rise with the Duke of Song's Mansion, and the second branch may even have a glorious day.
The Marquis of Wucheng's Mansion was not affected, the wedding ceremony continued as usual, and civil and military colleagues gave gifts and attended the wedding banquet as usual.
Shen Wan had breakfast as usual and went to pay her respects to the old lady. When she arrived, Concubine Wen, the Second Lady, the Third Lady, and the Fourth Lady were all there.
The Second Madam asked, "My South Courtyard Garden needs to be repaired. Does the North Courtyard Garden need to be repaired?"
The fourth lady said, "The garden is fine, but the roof of the pavilion is leaking and needs repairing."
The Second Madam said, "Then let's repair it together this morning."
The Fourth Madam frowned slightly, then relaxed her brows. "Second sister-in-law forgot that the princess asked me to go to the Marquis of Wucheng's mansion today to deliver the gifts and attend the wedding banquet. I won't be at the mansion all morning."
The old lady served the tea and upon hearing this, her eyes glanced coldly at the fourth lady.
The look was so cold that when the Fourth Lady saw it, a chill ran down her spine.
The princess has a gentle temperament, but the old lady and the others are not.
This is also the reason why the Fourth Lady was hesitant. If she pretended to have a sprained ankle and did not go to send the gift, the princess would not say anything, and would not make things difficult for the Fourth Lady, but the Old Lady might not be so happy.
Shen Wan curled her lips and smiled lightly, "Repairing the pavilion doesn't require Fourth Aunt to watch over it in the mansion."
The Second Madam was also smiling, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, which were covered with a layer of ice. "I almost forgot that the princess asked Fourth Sister-in-law to go to the Wucheng Marquis's mansion for the wedding banquet on her behalf. Since the pavilion is being repaired, Fourth Sister-in-law really doesn't need to be in the mansion to supervise it."
She is giving the Fourth Room a chance to regret. It seems that the Fourth Room is firmly on the side of the Chief Room. I hope the Fourth Room will not regret it.
No one spoke, but their eyes were uglier than the other. The fourth lady could not sit still, so she got up and left on the pretext of delivering a gift.
After the fourth lady left, Shen Wan went to see the princess, and then returned to Zhaolanxuan.
Instead of going back to the house directly, he went to the study.
Seeing her come in, Xie Jingyu put down the wolf-hair brush in his hand and said solemnly, "Fourth Aunt went to the Wucheng Marquis' Mansion to attend the wedding banquet."
Xie Jingyu asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Wan said, "Fourth Aunt went there under pressure from the Old Madam and Concubine Wen."
This turn is so big that Xie Jingyu really can't guess what Chen Wan wants to say, "Then what?"
Chen Wan said, "Old Madam Wu from the residence of the Junior Supervisor of the Military Equipment Supervisor is seriously ill. She should be gone in the next few days..."
Xie Jingyu, “……???”
Xie Jingyu frowned, finally understanding what Shen Wan wanted to say, "Do you think Fourth Uncle is suitable for that position?"
Shen Wan nodded repeatedly.
In the previous life, that position fell into the hands of the Third Master. If they did nothing, it would most likely still belong to the Third Master.
It can cause trouble for the old lady and the third wife, and also win over the fourth wife. Why not do it?
The reason why Chen Wan remembered it so clearly was that in her previous life, the day when Old Madam Wu passed away was exactly Old Madam Lin’s birthday. She followed Yun to the Lin Mansion and when she reached the gate, a servant came to announce the death.
In the past two days, Shen Wan asked someone to inquire and learned that Mrs. Wu had been ill for some time and the doctor had already asked for preparations for her funeral.
Xie Jingyu said, "The Junior Supervisor of the Military Equipment Supervisor is a fifth-rank official, and Fourth Uncle is only a sixth-rank official now. He needs to be promoted twice, which is quite difficult."
It's not easy, so it's unlikely.
Shen Wan blurted out, “If I can’t help the Fourth Master, then I can’t let the Third Master get promoted.”
Xie Jingyu asked, "Are you saying that Third Uncle will be the Junior Supervisor of the Military Equipment Supervisory Bureau?"
Shen Wan, “…”
How should she respond?
When she is about to nod, it is time to ask her how she knows.
Shen Wan said vaguely, "The maid overheard the people in the third house discussing this matter. If the third master wants that position, then isn't it a sure thing?"
Xie Jingyu knew that Shen Wan was not telling the truth, so he smiled and said, "If Third Uncle really wants that position, then Fourth Uncle has at least a 50% chance of getting promoted."
Shen Wan was bewildered, "Why?"
Xie Jingyu said, "Before the Emperor appoints Third Uncle, he will definitely ask Father's opinion. If Father thinks Fourth Uncle is more suitable, the Emperor will most likely promote Fourth Uncle."
Shen Wan's eyes widened, "Then isn't the Third Master helping the Fourth Master prepare for marriage?"
"You could say that."
Shen Wan's mouth spread into a bright smile.
If the old lady and the third wife knew about this, they would be furious.
Xie Jingyu couldn't bear to see Shen Wan's excited look, so he said, "Come here."
Shen Wan looked up at him, knowing what he wanted to do, and said quickly, "The day after tomorrow is Madam Lin's birthday. The headband is not embroidered yet, so I'll go back to the house first..."
Shen Wan quickly dodged.
It was not until the afternoon of the next day that Chen Wan finally finished embroidering the headband. It was even more exquisite than the one she had embroidered in her previous life. In her previous life, she made small clothes for her two children, which made her embroidery more proficient.
Shanhu said, "This headband is so beautifully embroidered, Madam Lin will definitely like it."
Old Master Lin and Old Madam Lin love Chen Wan the most, and Chen Wan hopes that they can live a long life.
The next day, Shen Wan went to Wing Chun Court to pay her respects to the old lady. As she reached the screen, she heard the Third Lady say, "Old Lady Wu of the Junior Supervisor's Mansion of the Military Equipment Supervisor passed away last night. Our master has been in the fifth rank position for two years. This position has real power and can be promoted to a higher level. It is the perfect fit."
The old lady naturally hoped that the third master would be promoted, but unfortunately the prince was not her son. Over the years, the prince had never helped the second and third masters in their promotions. She didn't know why before, but now she understood it all.
The prince knew that the second branch coveted his title and the military power in his hands, so how could he possibly help the second and third branches? He didn't even need to open his mouth.
The old lady said, "Tell the third son to find more powerful officials to recommend him and give him gifts if necessary."
Shen Wan went to pay her respects to the princess, and when she was about to leave, the third lady came and the princess asked, "Why is the third sister-in-law here with me?"
Ever since the princess fell ill, anyone who came to see her had something important to tell her.
The Third Madam explained her purpose, "This time the gift amount is larger, but if our master can be promoted, it will also be a good thing for the Jingbei Palace and the prince."
When the master of the mansion seeks an official position, the government pays half and he pays the other half himself.
The princess asked, "How much money do you want to give?"
The Third Lady said, "To ensure that everything is safe, we need at least 10,000 taels. Let's take 5,000 taels first."
The princess frowned, "This amount is too large."
The Third Lady said, "If you don't give enough, you won't be promoted and it will all go to waste. If you give more next time, the cost will only increase, not decrease."
"This is because the prince recommends the virtuous and avoids relatives. If the prince had recommended me, there would be no need for my master to entertain or give gifts..."
The princess still disagreed. Although the public money paid half, she didn't know how much was given in exchange for the official position. Once a precedent of such a large amount of money was set, the second and third masters would be promoted in the future and could give as much money as they wanted. What official position would they not be able to get?
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