"Okay!" Third Master frowned, "I've thought about this in my mind. Although the wedding of Jian'er is not as grand as that of Qin'er, the guests are all close friends. For example, the families of Fourth and Fifth Brothers will give generous gifts. On the contrary, the number of seats for the banquet has been reduced, and there won't be so many messy guests. Calculating it this way, we may not lose out!"
When the Third Lady heard this, her crying gradually subsided. She turned around, wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, looked at the Third Master and said, "Well, have you made an agreement with Mother? We will arrange Jian'er's marriage ourselves, and there is no need to trouble Eleventh Lady and Danyang!"
Of course she will settle this account, she has nothing to worry about.
Last time, she didn't get a penny of Qin'er's gift money. If she lets Shiyi Niang preside over the wedding this time, the scene of the wedding will not be able to take advantage of the grandeur of Yongping Marquis's Mansion, and the gift money collected will also be entered into the public account, which will be a waste of money!
When the Third Master thought of what the Lady Dowager had said, a look of hesitation appeared on his face.
The Third Lady knew that this matter was not that simple, and she started crying again: "Mother, you are too partial! You can't want the horse to run without giving it grass to eat. Look at Xinjie's one-year-old gift, and then look at Jing'er's full-month gift... Even for Shen'er, I heard that there will be 300 tables. As the saying goes, there are four joys in life: 'rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the wedding night, and being named on the list of successful candidates'. Why didn't you mention the one-year-old gift and the full-month gift? It is obvious that How important is this 'wedding night'! Is our Jian'er's wedding not as important as the first birthday celebration of Chen'er?" At this point, she stood up with tears on her face and sat next to the Third Master, "Third Master, I don't mean to compare. But Chen'er's first birthday celebration was just one foot away, and our Jian'er got married the next foot away. It's only been two months, and even if we don't compare, our relatives will grumble when they see it. Tell me, when my sister-in-law from my mother's family asks about it, what should I say!"
There was a hint of hesitation across the Third Master's face.
The Third Madam was delighted when she saw this. She cried twice and said, "Others don't understand this truth, but you don't. In this world, there are few people who help others in times of need, but many who take advantage of others' misfortunes. We are in this state now, and those who take advantage of others will despise us. If we are still so timid, I am afraid that there will be no place for us to stand among our relatives. Master, I am not afraid of your laughter. That day, I followed your instructions to deliver Jian'er's engagement letter, and I happened to meet Third Madam Huang and Eleventh Lady. They were both maids, and their maids were arranged by Yuban to sit in the hall, while Xingjiao stood in the yard... Master, today it is her, and tomorrow it will be us..."
The Third Master said nothing, but his expression was somewhat obscure.
The Third Madam's eyes turned slightly, adding fuel to the fire: "I know, if it weren't for me, the family wouldn't be like this, it's all because of me... I delayed Master's future... But I did it for this family, and for the children! Among the sisters-in-law, apart from the twelve sets of clothes I custom-made for the mansion every year, when have you ever seen me make an extra piece of clothing? Have you ever bought an extra piece of jewelry? Even during the two years when I was in charge of the household affairs of the mansion, I didn't spend a penny more on myself..."
"Stop talking!" The Third Master's voice was a little hoarse.
Although his wife had her own problems over the years, she was devoted to the family. Otherwise, they wouldn't have accumulated such a fortune, and his wife wouldn't have been often scolded by her uncle for not helping them financially.
"I'll go talk to Mom!"
There was a smile in the third lady's eyes.
"Master!" she said softly, "I will obey you from now on! I will never cause you any trouble again. Jian'er has a job, Qin'er has a favor, the harvest from the two farms is enough for us to live on, and the two shops on East Street bring in another 1,000 taels of silver a year. Then we can close the door and live our own happy life. It will be no worse than others."
The Third Master nodded slightly.
But when I saw the lady, I didn't know what to say.
"... I told you that although you have separated the family, I am here, and the fourth son is not a stingy person. It's still the same as before." The old lady accompanied Jin Ge'er to solve the nine-linked ring while chatting with the third master. "According to the old rules, the public fund will pay 50 taels of silver for the first birthday gift of Shen Ge'er, and the rest will be paid by Xiao Wu and his family!" As she spoke, she looked up at the third master, "You have been by my side for so many years, and I have always treated the children equally. You don't have to worry about your side. The 300 taels of silver for Jian Ge'er's wedding, and the shops in various places in July will pay for the gifts. The accounts for half a year have been deposited into the warehouse, and your fourth brother's wife needs to be arranged." Then he smiled and said, "Grandma Huang told Madam Wei what we meant. The Jin family felt that the wedding date was set too hastily, and it had to be set until May next year. Later, when they heard that I had personally chosen the date, they agreed. I think it would be a good idea for you to quickly prepare the new house for the wedding while the summer days are long and the weather is dry. Jian Ge'er is now a sixth-rank official after all, and the Jin family is so polite, so you must not let the little girl of the Jin family down when the time comes!"
As she was talking, Madam Du came in with a big red invitation sprinkled with gold: "Madam, it's from the hustle and bustle office! It says that the Tang family is marrying a niece-in-law."
The lady took the invitation and said, "Let me see..."
Yuban over there hurriedly took the glasses to help the lady.
The lady took a quick glance and gave it to Madam Du: "If there is such a thing in the future, send it to the fourth lady first!"
Mother Du smiled and said, "Fourth Madam also has a copy. Someone from the Tang family said it was specially sent to you."
The lady nodded, then turned to the Third Master and said, "It's no wonder that people say that poor people are arrogant. The poorer they are, the more they fear being looked down upon, and the more they want to dress up in luxury... When Madam Tang wanted to marry her daughter-in-law, she only sent one invitation to our family, but this one sent three invitations to our family, as if she was afraid that we wouldn't go." As she spoke, she smiled and touched the forehead of Jin Ge'er, who was concentrating on solving the Nine Links. Seeing that there was no sweat on his forehead, she said, "By the way, you came all the way here, but what's the matter?"
The Third Master smiled and said, "It's nothing! Didn't the Imperial Astronomical Observatory say that the two of us are compatible? I just came to see if the date for the wedding has been set. We have a plan on our end, too!"
The lady nodded with satisfaction and said, "Although this marriage was my idea, you still have to consider some things. When the eldest young lady came into the family, you didn't ask about the date, did you? The same goes for the Jin family's marriage. You should not ask about it." After that, she laughed and said, "You should learn from me. Who you like and who you don't like should all be in your heart. Otherwise, how can this family be peaceful!"
The Third Master smiled and said "Yes". Seeing the Madam lowered her head and touched Jin Ge'er's head and said "It can't be solved, we won't solve it. Let's take a break today and solve it tomorrow", he stood up and said: "Mother, then I will go back first."
The lady listened and said "hmm", looked up at him and then set her eyes on the nine-link chain in Jing'er's hand again: "Go! Painting the house and the eaves are the proper things for a man!" But she did not mention the matter of hiring a cook or setting up a wedding tent.
The Third Master smiled bitterly and could only respond with a low "yes".
The lady told Jin Ge'er: "Come and pay your respects to Uncle San!"
Yuban hurriedly carried Jing'er off the kang.
Jing'er had been fighting with Jiulianhuan for almost an hour and was already feeling unhappy. He saluted, pouted and said, "Goodbye, Third Uncle." His adorable appearance made the somewhat depressed Third Uncle smile - he was going to be a father-in-law too, and maybe soon his family would have a lively and adorable grandson like Jing'er!
* * * * * *
Seeing her husband coming back, the Third Lady, who was instructing Xingjiao to get a jar of Jinhua wine from the storehouse and wait for the Third Master to come back to have a couple of drinks with him, hurriedly went to greet him with a smile, helped the Third Master change his clothes, and personally served him a bowl of iced sour plum soup. Then she smiled and said, "What did mother say?" There was already a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
The Third Master looked slightly embarrassed and whispered, "Mother said that when Jian'er gets married, the three hundred taels of silver from the public treasury will be brought to Fourth Brother's wife in July after the shop's half-year accounts are deposited. The Jin family has agreed to the wedding date in August, so let's get ready for the new house quickly."
It is still not clear who will take care of Jian'er's marriage.
The third lady was stunned.
The Third Master said, "Didn't you say that Jian'er's marriage was a bit shabby? I thought about it carefully. The Jin family agreed to the wedding date so readily because Jian'er now has a job and his mother helped to arrange the marriage. It's better to ask the Fourth Brother's wife to help preside over Jian'er's wedding. In this way, families like the Weibei Marquis Lin family, the Zhongshan Marquis Tang family, and maybe even the wives of Chen Laoge and Liang Ge Lao will come to attend the wedding... Maybe the scene will be even more lively than when Qin'er got married!"
One moment, they said that the 300 taels of silver from the public treasury for Jian'er's wedding would be brought in July, the next moment, they said that the Jin family agreed to the wedding date for the sake of the lady, and the next moment, they said something about the wedding scene...
The third lady's eyes widened: "Where is the accounting office?"
The Third Master said vaguely: "The accounting office is naturally located in Sanjing Hutong?"
"Then who will take care of the accounts?" The Third Lady knew her husband best, and she would not let him get away with it, and asked aggressively.
The Third Master hummed and hawed, "We'll talk about it when the time comes..." Then he changed the subject, "After dinner, we'll decide on the new house, and Gan Laoquan can also find a craftsman earlier..."
"Third Master!" The Third Lady covered her face and started crying, "My own son is getting married, but someone else is hosting the wedding and collecting the gifts... I can't live like this!"
The Third Master sat there with his brows furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character “川”.
* * * * * *
Mother Du wrung out the handkerchief that had been soaked in well water and handed it to the lady.
The lady helped Jin Ge'er wipe his face and said, "If the third brother comes again, just tell me!"
It means don't see!
Mother Du smiled and cautiously said "yes", and asked Jing'er: "Sixth Young Master, I'll bring you some iced lotus seed soup, okay?"
Jing'er ignored her and continued working on his Nine Rings.
"Sixth Young Master!" Mother Du called him softly, with a hint of worry between her brows.
"Don't worry about him." The lady smiled, "Second Master was like this when he was little. Other children would just throw away something if they couldn't do it, but he would play with everything well, thoroughly, and skillfully." There was a hint of sighing in her tone, "Go and bring the lotus seed soup, I'll feed him!"
Mother Du left in response, then quickly came back in and whispered, "The Third Master is here!"
The lady could not hide her disappointment and said, "Tell him I'm going to rest."
※
There was a power outage yesterday. I thought it was a power outage as usual, but it turned out that the transformer was broken. It was a false alarm!
O(∩_∩)O~