"Grandma Liang said that Madam Gan has moved to the back garden. She came here specially to tell you."
Now that the Crown Prince has inherited the title, the former Grandma Gan has become Madam Gan, and the former Madam Gan has been honored as the Grand Madam.
Eleventh Lady sent Mother Song away, and the next day she took the small red lacquered and gold-painted box to the Gan Mansion.
The Great Zhou law stipulated that the family property should be divided equally between legitimate and illegitimate children. The father of the Third Lady was also one of the people who were fighting for the property with the newly appointed Earl of Zhongqin. Madam Gan did not want to offend Eleventh Lady and let the neutral Xu family stand against her. She smiled respectfully and accompanied Eleventh Lady to Madam Gan's courtyard.
The yard was built in the northeast corner of the back garden. There were two small black doors. There was a wall shadow at the entrance. After going around the wall shadow, there were three side rooms on the left and right, and three main rooms with side rooms in the front. Although the yard was neat and tidy, it was bare. There were no trees, not even potted flowers and trees. Only the little pug that Mrs. Gan had raised was lazily lying on the bluestone steps to bask in the sun. It felt very lonely and desolate.
A maid had already gone in to report, and as Eleventh Lady stepped onto the steps, Madam Gan came out to greet her in person.
She was wearing a dark summer cloth dress, her shiny black hair was neatly tied into a bun, without any hairpins, and she looked like a widow. Although there was a noticeable blue in her eyes, she looked better than the last time I saw her.
"You're here!" There was a faint smile in Mrs. Gan's eyes.
Eleventh Lady bowed to her and said, "I heard from Lanting that you moved here, so I came to see you specially."
Mrs. Gan said a few polite words to her and welcomed her and Mrs. Gan in.
The room was filled with black lacquer furniture, a landscape painting hung in the center, and a blue-and-white porcelain plum vase was placed on the long table, all of which were used by Mrs. Gan. There was a faint smell of raw lacquer in the room.
Everyone sat down as host and guest, and the maids served tea and snacks, and chatted about some family matters. A maid came in and said, "Madam, the master wants you to go to the main room, saying that he has something to discuss with you!"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Gan could no longer sit still. She smiled and exchanged a few words with Eleventh Lady, then warmly invited her to have dinner, and then went to the main room.
As soon as she left, Mrs. Gan pulled her into the inner room.
The two of them sat down on the kang by the window in the inner room. After sending away the serving maid, Eleventh Lady took out the box from her bosom.
Mrs. Gan's face was full of gratitude: "It's a good thing you sent someone to see me. Otherwise, this box would not be able to be delivered!" Then she placed the box behind the partition carved with the story of Meng Mu's three moves at the head of the bed in front of her, turned around and sat on the kang, "These are the property deeds that my old uncle secretly bought for me a few years ago. I didn't expect he would leave so soon..." As she spoke, her eyes were slightly wet.
Eleventh Lady hurriedly took out a handkerchief and handed it to Madam Gan, but she felt a little disapproving in her heart.
If you really care about Madam Gan, you should find a way to let the concubine give birth to a son and raise him under Madam Gan's name when you are still healthy. What's the point of leaving these properties? Women don't have private property. Madam Gan must get it.
She couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you discuss this with the Minister of Public Administration? There are also rules for transferring property ownership!"
Mrs. Gan took the handkerchief and wiped her eyes, then whispered, "My brother knows about this. At the beginning, the old uncle gave these properties to my mother's family as dowry. The uncle and my brother from my mother's family quarreled over these properties."
Eleventh Lady was very surprised to hear this.
Madam Gan said, "Those properties are all in the alleys beside East Street. Not only are they quiet in a bustling area, but some of Beijing's century-old gouache shops and silver shops are also located there. They are all old houses that cannot be bought even if you have money. Uncle suspected that my dowry was given by the old uncle... Now it's clear. My eldest brother supports Uncle to take out one-fifth of the family property as sacrificial land, and he will not pursue these properties."
Eleventh Lady took a breath of cold air.
The Gan family's sacrificial fields were managed by the successive generations of Zhongqin Earl. One fifth of the family property was used as sacrificial fields, which means that before the public property was divided, one fifth of it was already in the hands of the new Zhongqin Earl.
Mrs. Gan knew it very well.
She sighed softly and said in a listless tone, "Don't talk about my messy things." Then she smiled and said, "My maiden name is Fuzhen, you can call me Fuzhen!"
Only those who are very close will tell each other their maiden names.
Eleventh Lady smiled and called Madam Gan "Sister Fuzhen," and then said, "My nickname is Moyan."
Fu Zhen listened and called her "Sister Moyan" with a smile.
Eleventh Lady’s expression was slightly choked.
To be honest, I'm a little uncomfortable being called like this!
Mrs. Gan didn't pay attention to these things, and asked her about her affairs with concern: "You should have moved back! How is it? Are you used to it?"
It means that the wife and concubine live together again!
"It's OK!" Eleventh Lady smiled implicitly, "I can't live in the waterside pavilion forever! Some things can't be avoided!"
Mrs. Gan saw that she looked calm and composed, and her eyes fell on her abdomen.
The two had some private conversations a few days ago.
Eleventh Lady knew what she meant and said, "I haven't made any movement yet!"
Mrs. Gan became a little worried and advised her: "You should think about it carefully. Your life will be much easier if you have a child."
"Let it be!" Eleventh Lady's attitude was not very enthusiastic.
She knew that having a child would change her life a lot, but she really didn't want to use the child as a bargaining chip in her life. That little person who brings some sweetness even though it makes people distressed should be the most beautiful gift in life. Let God decide when to give it to her!
Mrs. Gan sighed softly.
After all, Eleventh Lady is too young. She doesn't understand the truth that "no flower lasts forever, and no person stays happy forever." However, this is also the reason why young people are full of vigor and vitality - they always feel that they have plenty of time, many opportunities, and are full of hope for the future.
She stopped trying to persuade Shiyi Niang. Sometimes, only when one experiences it oneself will one change.
Mrs. Gan changed the subject and talked to her about the Mid-Autumn Festival: "My son-in-law is coming over today to give me a Mid-Autumn Festival gift, right?"
"Yes!" Eleventh Lady said, "It was sent a few days ago. In addition to the usual tea, wine, moon cakes, and sweets, they also sent Cangzhou's specialty golden silk dates."
As they were talking, Madam Gan came in. She smiled and invited Shiyi Niang to have lunch in the main room. Shiyi Niang got up and said goodbye, saying that she had something else to do at home.
After returning home, thinking about Madam Gan's courtyard, she couldn't fall asleep for some reason. Xu Lingyi hugged her: "What's wrong? You can't sleep well!"
"It's okay!" said Eleventh Lady, "Maybe these autumn insects are a little noisy!"
Xu Lingyi listened carefully and only heard a few chirping sounds occasionally.
He looked thoughtful.
The next day at noon, when I came back from the outer courtyard, I saw Mother Song and Ji Ting's wife helping the little maid get into the carriage at the Chuihua Gate.
When the two saw Xu Lingyi, they hurried forward to pay their respects. Mother Song explained, "Madam asked me to take some of the Cangzhou golden dates that my son-in-law sent a few days ago to the residence of the Duke of Zhongqin for Madam Gan to taste." She then pointed to Ji Ting's wife and said, "Ask her to go with me to see if Madam is short of anything and send some flowers and trees."
Xu Lingyi was secretly surprised.
I didn’t expect that Eleventh Lady would take care of the Gan family’s lady like this.
He nodded calmly and returned to the inner room.
Eleventh Lady was sitting on the kang, holding a card with words on it and telling Xu Sijie how to read.
"See? These three words together form 'Xiang Jiuling'. When I tell you the story of Huang Xiang sleeping, you have to find these three words. Got it?" He has infinite patience.
Xu Sijie held a small pillow and nodded continuously.
Xu Lingyi seemed to be thinking about something.
Eleventh Lady heard Xu Sijie calling "Daddy".
"The Marquis is back!" She smiled and got off the kang.
A little maid ran in and said, "Madam, there is a letter from Yuhang."
Eleventh Lady took it and looked at it. The handwriting was beautiful and elegant - it was Master Jian's handwriting.
"It's a letter from Master Jian." She explained to Xu Lingyi with a smile, then opened the letter and sat on the kang to read it. After a moment, she looked up, her eyebrows already showing some joy: "It said that it will be sent from Yuhang in mid-July." As she spoke, her smile gradually faded, "Why did this letter come so late? According to the date, Master Jian and Qiuju will arrive in the next two days!"
When Shiyi Niang wrote the first letter, Master Jian replied that he was willing to come to Yanjing to see the world. But because he was still teaching several students, he could not decide when to come. Shiyi Niang thought that since he had students, he might not be able to leave until the end of this year or after the New Year. Unexpectedly, he actually left in the middle of the year.
She couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Could something have happened?
Xu Lingyi thought that he was worried that Master Jian would come suddenly and couldn't find the place. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll send someone to Tongzhou to pick him up!"
Master Jian is a woman and this is her first time in Yanjing. It would be best if someone could pick her up.
Eleventh Lady thanked Xu Lingyi. Xu Lingyi arranged for someone to go to Tongzhou to pick her up.
On the 15th day of August, the lady first led the women in the family to worship the moon at Biyi Gate, and then went to Qiongling Villa to eat moon cakes, drink osmanthus wine and admire the moon.
Zhun Ge and Xu Sijie chased and played in the hall with rabbit lanterns, singing the nursery rhyme "The lotus flowers have not yet fully bloomed, and it is Mid-Autumn Festival again. Every household is cutting moon cakes, making incense, candles, paper horses, and rabbit gods, and enjoying the moon together by playing rock-paper-scissors", which brought bursts of laughter.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shiyi Niang took Ji Ting's wife to visit Madam Gan and gave her a lot of flowers and trees. Ji Ting's wife instructed the servants there to move some of the potted flowers and trees to the inner room and plant some in the yard.
Madam Gan complained to her: "I am already half buried in the ground, why do you have to offend her?"
"You haven't been buried yet, have you?" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Since I care about you so much, Sister Fuzhen should live happily."
Mrs. Gan said nothing, looking at her in surprise, and then she smiled faintly: "When I was your age, I worried every day whether I had said or done something wrong and offended someone... You are much better than I was at that time."
"Really?" Eleventh Lady was stunned.
Could it be that I acted too mature?
She was feeling guilty when Madam Gan took her hand and said, "But it's better this way! You won't be like me..." She sounded very relieved and went to the inner room with her.
Eleventh Lady was ashamed.
Just as Madam Gan and I sat down on the big kang by the window in the inner room, we saw a group of maids and old women walking in, escorting Madam Gan.
Mrs. Gan looked a little surprised when she saw the bustling scene in the yard.
Madam Gan said calmly, "I asked the wife of the Marquis of Yongping to bring me some flowers and trees suitable for planting in this yard. Madam, have you seen that? It is said that the tree planted in the corner is a Chinese toon tree. In the spring, you can pick Chinese toon and fry eggs with it. What do you think? Not bad, right?"
Mrs. Gan glanced at Eleventh Lady awkwardly and said with a smile, "Whatever mother decides, it must be correct!" Then she said a few words to her and left in a hurry.
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I can’t log into qidian. It’s the middle of the night and I can’t find anyone to help me… I’ve delayed the update until now!
⊙﹏⊙bSweat!
PS: Keep asking for pink votes!