Eleventh Lady pondered and said, "What does Big Brother mean?"
"Sixth Aunt made a lot of noise at home, and Dad kept talking to her. Although Big Brother didn't agree in the end, he didn't refuse either. He sent her over." Grandma Luo said, "Big Brother wanted to ask Eleventh Aunt to help come up with a plan that would not embarrass the Luo family. After all, you are 'familiar' with the customs and etiquette of Yanjing. If you say one word, it's worth ten words from us."
This Sixth Aunt...
Eleventh Lady nodded: "I understand. Ask her to come see me tomorrow!"
Fourth Madam Luo breathed a sigh of relief and said embarrassedly, "My aunt is in confinement after childbirth, so I shouldn't have bothered you... But if this happened in Jiangnan, maybe Sixth Madam would have done it!"
The key lies in Master Luo’s attitude!
Eleventh Lady nodded in understanding: "Don't be polite, Fourth Sister-in-law. Sixth Aunt's plan is indeed too much. If it is really difficult, you can ask Sixth Aunt to come and see me!" Then she told Fourth Grandma Luo what Mrs. Zhou meant: "...The Wang family wants to get married before the New Year. You go back and tell Fourth Brother, so that you can also reply to Fourth Brother-in-law. If it is OK, let Fourth Brother-in-law choose a date, and then we can set the wedding date with the Wang family; if it is not OK, you can choose a date, and Fourth Brother-in-law can also tell the Wang family."
Grandma Luo Si understood these rules and said with a smile, "I think we should choose a date before the New Year. Twelve Sister is not young anymore and can get married. Besides, the Wang family's concerns are not without reason. If mother-in-law passes away, we will have to observe the mourning period for two years... We should also think about other families."
The wedding date was set directly without discussing it with anyone, which seemed to give a sense of "as long as I agree",
When Eleventh Lady thought about Luo Zhensheng's character and the ability and shrewdness of Fourth Lady Luo, she couldn't help but secretly wonder whether the reason why Luo Zhensheng was able to manage the general affairs in the past two years was entirely because of the help of Fourth Lady Luo, his virtuous wife?
She smiled and said, "Then I will reply to Madam Zhou according to what Fourth Sister-in-law said."
Fourth Grandma Luo nodded, drank a sip of tea to moisten her throat, looked up and saw Shiyi Niang leaning on the big red pillow with a pale face, her heart moved, and she hesitated and said: "Fifth Aunt and Tenth Aunt... I plan to go and see them tomorrow. I wonder if Tenth Aunt... can go out often?"
After the funeral of the eldest wife, Eleventh Lady and Tenth Lady had not seen each other again. During the New Year and other festivals, the Wang family also sent gifts, and the Xu family also sent gifts in return, but they were all just formalities. Even for Jin'er's third-day baptism, Tenth Lady had someone bring five small silver ingots for the top scholar, but no one showed up.
When she heard Fourth Grandma Luo mention her, Eleventh Lady's eyes were somewhat complicated. She shook her head gently and whispered, "Tenth Sister used the excuse of being a widow to stay at home and she hardly ever came to see me."
After hearing this, Luo Si's grandmother sighed deeply: "Tenth Aunt, she is also a pitiful person!"
Eleventh Lady leaned on the pillow without saying a word.
* * * * * *
It was not known whether the Sixth Aunt was making too much trouble or whether Fourth Lady Luo wanted to resolve this hot potato quickly. The next day, Fourth Lady Luo sent the Sixth Aunt to see Eleventh Lady on the pretext of delivering something to her.
"Auntie, this doesn't sound very credible to me, not to mention my eldest brother." Sixth Auntie was a smart woman, and Eleventh Auntie went straight to the point, "What would Twelfth Uncle think if he knew that our Luo family had given a dowry of 1,000 taels of silver and a dowry of 4,000 taels of silver? Uncle is a man of integrity. No matter how poor the Wang family is, they wouldn't ask our Luo family to use this method to help them, right? Auntie, aren't you making things difficult for Twelfth Sister?"
Seeing that Eleventh Lady had made it clear, Sixth Aunt stopped pretending to be confused and said, "I have no other choice." She was still full of grievances, "You said, Twelfth Miss's marriage was arranged so hastily, and the family's current land and acres were used as dowry. When the time comes, the money will be needed urgently, and there is no familiar and close person to help with the business. Relying on those people in the brokerage, they can only give you five taels of silver for a ten-tael silver item. Isn't it letting those people get away with it for nothing? Buying property in Yanjing in such a hurry, most of the time you buy it at a high price, and when you sell it, I'm afraid you can only sell it for two-thirds of the market price. It's better to just give the silver directly!"
Eleventh Lady was puzzled as to why Sixth Aunt was always thinking about selling her dowry.
The Sixth Aunt smiled bitterly, "I've thought it through clearly. The reason why the Twelfth Uncle stopped studying is because he has a younger brother who is better at studying than him. When the Twelfth Miss gets married, she will be the eldest sister-in-law. When the time comes, how can she not give money to help her younger brother-in-law study?
"There are many people in Jiangnan who have passed the imperial examinations. Only a few families, not wealthy ones, can read it. It's not that the children of other families are not smart, but it's really unaffordable to support a good boy for decades without any help.
"Those with less financial resources have to mobilize the whole family. Not to mention other things, the cost of traveling to the county, province, and capital is not a small amount. If you have to take a few more exams, many families will have to spend all their money. Those who are poor and have no talent can only study to become a scholar. Even our fourth uncle-in-law, whose ancestors were officials, would not have been able to achieve what he has today if it were not for the support of the second master. I heard that the second wife didn't even buy a new piece of clothing in those years!
"Miss Twelve will have many more places to spend money in the future, what's the point of fighting for face now? Besides, if Master Twelve is not a real man, how could he have the title of a scholar and be willing to be humble and learn general affairs from a steward? Speaking of which, Master sent me to Yanjing, which is exactly what I want. I also want to talk to you. I think you are the only one who understands this family! I am thinking that Miss Twelve will have a hard time in the future, and I will save as much as possible." After saying that, he added, "Anyway, I have thought about it carefully. Marrying Miss Twelve will fulfill my wish. Where I go is just a matter of death. I can pull down the emperor with my courage. I have to think carefully about this matter for Miss Twelve."
Eleventh Lady was surprised to hear this. However, everything is inferior, only reading is superior. In the eyes of others, Wang Ze is a scholar, and he is willing to be lowly for not being a scholar and managing money.
She had to admit that Sixth Aunt's considerations made sense.
But the Luo family also has their own position. You can't spend money to marry off a daughter and then let her get away with it! And the Sixth Aunt's fussing made her feel a little uncomfortable.
There are three kinds of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no offspring. But "satisfying one's parents and putting one's parents in an unjust position" is also unfilial. Luo Zhenxing just didn't want to embarrass his twelfth sister, otherwise, Luo Zhenxing could have compared himself with Wu Niang and Shi Niang - she had the largest dowry because her son-in-law was the Marquis of Yongping, Wu Niang and Shi Niang, one married a Juren and the other married the prince of the Duke's Mansion. In comparison, Wang Ze, a mere scholar, insisted on marrying Shi Niang like Wu Niang, and I'm afraid that Master Luo couldn't do anything about it!
"I understand what you mean, Aunt." Eleventh Lady said solemnly, "But sometimes, people can't just think about themselves." Things always have two sides. Arguing may not convince others, and there is no point. Solving the problem is the goal. If you say anything else, Sixth Lady may not understand, so it is better to follow her train of thought. She pondered and said, "As the saying goes, if you live off the mountain, you will end up with nothing. You are doing this for the good of Twelfth Sister, why don't you think about it carefully.
"You said this just because you hope to get the twelfth uncle's brother to turn him in. As long as he turns him in, the twelfth sister's days will be over. But what if he can't? Wouldn't all this money be wasted!
"Instead of putting all the money in bit by bit, it's better to buy some property, which will generate some income every year. Even if the twelfth uncle's brother can't provide for him, the family's expenses will be taken care of in the future. Besides, the twelfth sister will have her own children in the future. If he is like his uncle and is also a good student, should I provide for him or not? Where will I use the money to provide for him then? To put it another way, even if the twelfth uncle's brother passes the imperial examination and enters the official career, does the twelfth sister's child still have to rely on the uncle for support? Even if it is a husband, he has to give up his left hand to the right hand, let alone a relative!"
The Sixth Aunt was shocked when she heard this, and after a while she said, "According to what Auntie said, you should keep some money for yourself?"
Either left or right. This Sixth Auntie also wants to twist at this moment!
"My idea is to divide the money into several parts, some for property, some for land, and some for use. This way, no matter what happens, there will be a way out." He added, "But the money is not much, we should think of ways to help the twelfth sister buy some property that will not depreciate. For example, if you buy a house, try to be close to Dashifang, Xiaoshifang, Renshoufang, and Chengqingfang. The houses in these places are either close to the palace or close to the East and West Markets, so even if you want to sell them one day, you won't lose too much. As for buying farms, try to be in Shandong. It is close to the capital and has better returns than the farms in Daxing County."
The Sixth Aunt nodded and whispered, "I understand what Auntie means, but it's not easy to find such a good place..."
Eleventh Lady was waiting for her to say this. She said, "Fourth sister's husband works in the Pedestrian Department. He is a frequent visitor to high-ranking officials. He is well-informed. Seventh sister married in Shandong. Seventh sister's husband is known as 'Xue Yijun'. There is no one he doesn't know in that area..." She deliberately didn't mention herself and looked at Sixth Lady meaningfully. "Big brother doesn't care about these things. He also hopes that we brothers and sisters can live in harmony and have a good life. A single tree cannot make a forest. Only when we work together can we break gold. Since Sixth Lady is planning for Twelfth Sister, you should think more about some things. When Twelfth Sister marries, she will have many sisters-in-law and many disputes. She will definitely have to cross the river by feeling the stones in the first few years. You should give her a crutch to help her, right?"
The Sixth Aunt suddenly understood what she said. She was also very smart, so she immediately said, "What the aunt said makes sense. Then I will completely count on the aunt to be the head of the family for me!"
Now it’s all right, whoever came up with the idea should do it!
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "We have capable sisters-in-law in our natal family, so why should a married lady like me intervene? Auntie, you should change your temper."
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Make up for the extra update on April 22nd!
PS: Post a draft first!
O(∩_∩)O~