"I'm not familiar with them." The third wife said, "but the teacher they hired is the nephew of one of my father's students. His surname is Zhao and he is very knowledgeable. That's why he went there. Speaking of which, the Tang family is domineering and not easy to get along with. Mr. Zhao went there because of his friend's face. He plans to quit this year after teaching. I heard that the annual tuition is 15 taels of silver, a set of clothes for each season, and a servant. I also plan to discuss with the master. We can afford such expenses. Why not invite him to our house to teach Kai and Yu brothers?"
The eldest wife was very surprised: "Fifteen taels of silver for the housework, a set of clothes for each season, and a servant. This is too..." After saying this, she pondered, "Third brother's wife's idea is good. If this is the case, it is better to invite her home. You can be careless about anything, but you can't be careless about the children's studies. Speaking of which, we haven't divided the family, so let's pay from the public fund!"
The third wife was startled and said hurriedly: "How can this be possible..."
The first wife had already taken the third wife's hand and said, "We are one family, so we should not talk about different things." She then said, "Since Mr. Zhao wants to quit the office, I think he is not satisfied with his employer. I think it would be better to raise the salary to 20 taels per year, give him two sets of clothes for each season, and a servant. I see there is a small courtyard on the back floor, why not give it to Mr. Zhao?"
The third wife wanted to refuse, but the first wife smiled and said, "I am the eldest sister-in-law, you have to listen to me."
The Liu family fell at this time, and the third wife was more sensitive than usual to human relationships. The things that the first wife Xu Cheng gave were not expensive, and the third master was not unable to afford them, but the first wife's words made the third wife very grateful.
She held the eldest lady's hand, her eyes a little moist, and nodded heavily.
The eldest wife looked at Wu Niang, Shi Niang and Shi Yi Niang who were sitting quietly in front of them and said with a smile: "It's boring for you to listen to our adults talking about family matters. There are two pear trees behind your Third Aunt's house. They should be blooming by now. Let the mothers take you around the yard. It won't be uncomfortable."
The third wife heard the tone and knew that the first wife wanted to send a few daughters to have a private talk with her. She smiled and said, "It would be more pleasant to sit under the pear tree and drink tea!" She also asked her personal mother to take a few people to the backyard for a walk.
The three of them understood, bent their knees and bowed to the first and third wives, then followed their mother to the yard.
The first wife sighed deeply, and looked at the third wife with a wry smile: "Three of you are the same. You really have so much to worry about."
The third wife winked at the maids around her, and they retreated silently.
She smiled and said, "When they become mothers, they will naturally understand your painstaking efforts."
"I hope that day will come." The first wife replied in a sullen tone. Then she sat up straight and asked the third wife, "By the way, do you know any young men of the right age? Speaking of which, Wu Niang and Shi Niang are not young anymore. As you know, they are both illegitimate children. We may like them, but they may not like us. It really worries me to death."
So that’s why!
The third wife thought of some rumors she heard while she was in mourning in Yuhang... She couldn't help but laugh and said, "If it were in the past, if I asked my mother, she would always be able to find a few suitable ones. But now..." Her face was full of apology.
"Look at me, I'm talking about your sore spot again." The eldest wife said self-reproachfully.
"It's none of my sister-in-law's business." The third wife's eyes turned red, "I just can't get over it."
The first wife comforted the third wife for a few words, then sighed and changed the subject again: "I dare not think about anything else, I just hope that you have good character and a clean family background!"
Seeing that she was obsessed with it, the third wife had no choice but to say, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I will help keep an eye on it."
The eldest wife nodded and was about to say something when a little maid came in and announced, "The two masters are back from school!"
The third wife smiled and said, "Come in quickly, their aunt is here."
When the first wife saw this, she knew that what she had asked for was ruined.
* * * * * *
After coming out from the third wife, the first wife looked a little dazed.
Luo Zhenxing saw it all.
When he got home, he had a private conversation with his mother: "...Why did you suddenly think of going to Huguo Temple today? And why did you go to my third uncle's house without any trouble?"
The eldest master had gone out early in the morning and had not returned yet. In addition, she did not get what she wanted when she went to the Third Madam today, so she felt unhappy. She also wanted to talk to someone, so she told her son everything: "…If the matter of Eleventh Madam is successful, Fifth Madam and Tenth Madam must be married off quickly. I think Madam Jiang is quite satisfied with her intentions, but there is still one thing that is not settled?"
Luo Zhenxing had vaguely heard his wife mention this before, but at the time he thought it was just nonsense. But now that he heard his mother say it with his own ears, his face darkened: "Mom, my eldest sister is still fine, how could you... It's really sad!"
"What do you know?" The eldest wife saw her always filial son actually talking back to her. She thought that if her daughter passed away, her grandson would still have this uncle to support him. It would be bad if her son had a rift with this matter. She also thought that this matter might make her son feel the difficulties of life, so she simply said, "When people leave, the tea gets cold, and when people die, the lights go out. No matter how much the Marquis misses the old feelings, seeing the new people smile every day, even the iron will become soft. Who knows what kind of monster will happen at that time. If we don't make plans now, can we wait until Zhun brother has something to do before making plans? Don't forget that he has a grandmother and a father. No matter how close we are, we are still his in-laws. Even if we are willing, I'm afraid it will be too far away to do anything."
"The Marquis is not that kind of person!" Luo Zhenxing told his mother about Xu Lingyi's secret visit to the Imperial College's chief priest. "He could have boasted about it in front of me. But he didn't tell me anything! If the chief priest hadn't mentioned it to me, I might never have known about it."
"Who is the Marquis? Who knows better than your eldest sister?" The eldest wife disagreed. "I have been busy these days and have not had time to talk to you. I see that you are very different from when you were in Yuhang, but what happened?"
Luo Zhenxing was a little surprised. He didn't expect his mother to ask him this, and he didn't understand what she meant.
"Is it after entering the Imperial College that you suddenly realized that you were just a frog in a well?" The eldest wife smiled coldly without waiting for her son to answer, "You still have a lot to learn. The Marquis came to the Imperial College to greet you. If you were the chief priest, I'm afraid you would also show off this favor, right?"
Luo Zhenxing's face turned pale. He thought of how he was modest and prudent when he first entered the Imperial College. When people asked him about his family, he often gave vague answers, which resulted in people making fun of him. Later, he accidentally revealed his relationship with the Yongping Marquis's Mansion, and everyone suddenly became friendly with him... This made him deeply realize the fickleness of the world.
Seeing her son remained silent, the first wife knew that her words had worked. So she lowered her voice and said slowly, "The Marquis is a man of rare talent, but he is easily influenced, timid, and indecisive. Let's not talk about anything else. When your elder sister first got married, she wanted to live alone in her own house. The Marquis agreed in front of her, but when he came to the Dowager, he immediately changed his mind. When your elder sister complained, he changed his mind again and said that he would tell the Dowager in a few days. He kept going back and forth without making a decision. Later, he inherited the title, which made your sister suffer even more.
The Marquis is the Queen's brother, and according to the law, he should have been granted a title. But the Marquis was afraid that the Emperor would be suspicious, so he submitted a petition to resign. Tell me, what is there to be afraid of? Is he the only uncle of the Emperor in this dynasty? Or did all the uncles of the Emperor who were granted titles die of old age? Oh, it seems that no one else is afraid, only he is! Your eldest sister was very angry with him because of this matter."
The eldest wife became a little excited.
"After the rebellion in the north was quelled, the emperor brought up the idea of conferring a title on the marquis.
At that time, Yu Ge had already been enlightened, and everyone praised him for his intelligence. But Zhun Ge was young and had deficiencies, so relatives said, "The family will all depend on Yu Ge in the future." Some foolish people even went to Qin Yi Niang to show their courtesy. Your eldest sister wanted to adopt Yu Ge to the second wife's name. But on the one hand, this matter required the consent of the Taifu and the Second Madam, and on the other hand, the consent of the clan, which was quite difficult and she was worried. When she learned that the Marquis had obtained another title, she was so happy. She thought about giving the title to Yu Ge. On the one hand, it saved Zhun Ge's danger, and on the other hand, your eldest sister would have face if she told others about it. Who knew that the Marquis would resign again. Not only did he not talk about the resignation, but he hadn't discussed it with your eldest sister, and your eldest sister heard about it from others afterwards. This time, your eldest sister was so angry... that she has been coughing up blood since then."
As she spoke, the eldest wife couldn't help but shed tears.
"The Marquis didn't think about your elder sister at all. The title of a relative-in-law is only conferred on the person himself, and it will be gone if he is gone. But the title obtained through military merit is conferred through merit and is hereditary. Think about it, he was like this when your elder sister was alive. If she were gone, Zhun'er would still have a way to survive! Don't forget, no matter how many children the Xu family has who call you uncle, Zhun'er is the only one who is your elder sister's flesh and blood, and he and you are the only ones who are still connected even if our bones are broken!"
Luo Zhenxing was very confused. "But I heard someone say that when the Marquis was pacifying the Miao people, the Miao people pretended to surrender and offered beautiful women, but the Marquis was not moved at all. He killed them decisively and immediately beheaded the Miao leader, making the Miao people's fake come true. That's why he won seven battles and pacified the Miao people... How can you say he is 'soft-hearted, cowardly, and indecisive'? Did you hear it wrong?"
"What do you know?" The eldest wife smiled coldly, "In the beginning, the old marquis spent all his family wealth to help the emperor ascend the throne. Otherwise, how could the Wen family of Yangzhou have a relationship with the marquis's mansion? Later, when the emperor ascended the throne, he wanted to make the queen proud. Despite the opposition of several university scholars, he forced the marquis, who had never led troops or fought a war, to be the general who pacified the barbarians. The people in the Ministry of War saw the emperor's intention and knew that if the war was fought, they would have food and people. As long as they won, they would be appointed as prime ministers and marquises. Therefore, many famous generals at that time served as lieutenant generals or captains under the command of the marquis. If he can't win a battle like this, he will be a useless man!"
Luo Zhenxing was speechless.
With so many famous generals under your command, it must be difficult to get them to obey your orders, right?
But even after I said this, my mother still didn’t understand…
※
Will update at normal time tomorrow. (*^__^*) Hehehe...