The room was full of guests, and the joy of meeting each other made Shiyi Niang hesitate to ask too many questions. She suppressed her uneasiness in her heart until the lights came on, the lady's face showed a bit of fatigue, and everyone left. Only then did she have the opportunity to talk to Zhen Jie'er in her original inner room in Lijingxuan.
"What happened just now?" Eleventh Lady asked her, "Why did you suddenly say something like 'I'm sorry' or 'I'm sorry'?"
Zhen Jie'er blushed and muttered something, her voice so soft as a mosquito that it was impossible to hear clearly what she was saying!
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "If you don't tell me this time, you don't know when you will have the chance to tell me. Have you thought it through? Will you tell me or not?"
Zhen Jie'er will return to Cangzhou in three days. From then on, she will visit her parents every morning and evening and behave as a well-behaved daughter-in-law of the Shao family.
"I, I'm afraid that my mother will worry." Zhen Jie'er's face turned even redder.
Eleventh Lady was stunned: "Are you afraid that I would worry? What are you afraid that I would worry about?"
Zhen Jie'er thought that Shiyi Niang was teasing her. She said hesitantly, "Didn't mother tell me that if we lose this, we can still have that... I should stop being on guard against others and think about how to..." At this point, her face turned red like the morning glow and she couldn't continue.
Only then did Eleventh Lady understand.
She couldn't help feeling ashamed.
The main reason was that she was quite nervous that day. She talked a lot and even she couldn't remember some of what she said.
Shao Zhongran has concubines. Shiyi Niang is afraid that Zhen Jie'er will be jealous after marrying him, so she suggests that instead of staring at the concubines, she should find a way to show her own advantages and make Shao Zhongran unable to leave her.
She didn't expect Zhen Jie'er to understand at that time, but now it seems that Zhen Jie'er obviously understood.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but smile slightly.
Zhen Jieer stood up a little embarrassedly: "I'll pour a cup of tea for mother!"
"No need!" Eleventh Lady smiled, "You rushed here from Cangzhou and you haven't even had a chance to catch your breath before you've been chatting with the Madam and entertaining relatives at home. You haven't had a good rest yet. It's getting late, go to bed! If you have anything to say, we can talk tomorrow."
Zhen Jie'er knew that Shiyi Niang's health had been damaged since she gave birth to Jin'er, and she had been taking good care of her over the years. She didn't dare to keep her any longer and sent her out.
But the words in her heart were stuck in her throat, and she couldn't help but speak them out.
She couldn't help but shout "Mother".
There was a hint of hesitation in his voice.
Eleventh Lady thought of her cowardly nature, smiled and stopped.
Zhu Xiang winked at the maids and they all stood far away.
Seeing this, Zhen Jie'er gained more courage to speak.
"Mother." She looked at Eleventh Lady shyly, "My husband has been resting in my room these days!" She added, "Just as mother said!" Her voice was so low that it was almost inaudible.
Eleventh Lady understood.
Zhen Jie'er has been married for a month and she is not pregnant, so she must have had her period. According to convention, she should have a concubine sleeping with her during her period. She has been staying in her room, which means that Shao Zhongran has refused to have a concubine sleeping with her.
She couldn't help but sigh softly in her heart, and held Zhen Jie'er's hand tightly, without saying anything for a long time.
Sister Zhen was satisfied.
The corners of her mouth curled up high, forming a happy arc.
* * * * * *
After seeing off Zhen Jie'er, the family began to prepare for the New Year in full swing.
Mrs. Xiang suddenly returned to Yanjing.
She came to pay her respects to the lady.
"...I haven't seen the Fourth Madam for a few years. She has become even more beautiful!" Mrs. Xiang was entertaining Eleventh Lady, but her eyes fell on Jin Ge'er, revealing a look of longing, "When I left, there was no sign of him! In the blink of an eye, the Sixth Young Master is running on the ground!"
The lady-in-waiting saw this and laughed, "As the saying goes, one only worries about giving birth, not raising a child." Then she asked about the children, "Yijia should be twenty-one this year, right? Whose daughter is this? Has the wedding date been decided?"
After hearing this, Mrs. Xiang's expression became a little embarrassed.
"Yijia hasn't got a husband yet!" He sighed helplessly, "He failed the imperial examinations for two years in a row. The master was so angry that he sent him to study at Jiaxing Temple. During that time, matchmakers came to propose marriage, but the master rejected them all. He said that if he didn't have a career, how could he start a family? I had no choice but to watch Yijia drag on like this until today!"
The lady smiled and comforted her: "Now that you have a family and someone to take care of you, your heart will gradually return. I think it's up to you, the wife, to persuade your uncle." Then she asked about the three young ladies: "...are you all okay?"
"Thanks to the Madam," Mrs. Xiang felt relieved after hearing this, and immediately changed the subject, "Rou Jin got engaged to the eldest son of Mr. Zhou, a colleague of yours and the Minister of Works, a few years ago. The wedding was delayed only because of the death of Mr. Zhou." As she spoke, she asked someone to bring out a wedding invitation, "I'm here this time, first, to pay my respects to the Madam, and second, to invite you to join in the fun as Rou Jin is getting married." As she spoke, she took out a bright red invitation with gold sprinkled on it.
"Congratulations!" The lady took it with a smile. Seeing that the invitation said it was the fourth day of the second month of the new year, she said, "I will definitely go to the ceremony then!"
"I've been waiting for you, Madam!" Mrs. Xiang said a few polite words and went to the Second Madam - after all, she was her sister-in-law, and her eldest daughter was getting married, so she had to invite her no matter what. As for whether she went to watch the ceremony or not, that was up to her!
When the second wife found out, she frowned slightly.
"So, Yijia is still being dragged down by the second young lady of the Han family?"
Mrs. Xiang has never given in to the Second Lady. She smiled and said, "It's mainly because we want to find a better family for Yijia."
Doesn’t she know what kind of temper her own brother has?
My elder brother is an adopted son, so he really wants to have a grandson. Besides, it is common for a scholar to fail the imperial examination once or twice, and there are also those who take the examination eight or ten times before they get what they want. Others don’t know that my elder brother studied to become an official, and he has come a long way from being a scholar, an imperial scholar, and a Jinshi. How could he not know this? He would definitely not reject a marriage proposal from someone else because of this.
She can fool others, but she can't fool herself!
The second lady smiled faintly.
In Mrs. Xiang's eyes, there was always a hint of sarcasm.
She was unhappy and wanted to go back to the mansion after saying a few words. No matter how the Second Madam, the Fourth Madam and the Madam tried to persuade her to stay for dinner, she insisted on leaving: "I just came back and there are many things to do. I will come to greet the Madam and the other ladies another day!"
Seeing that Mrs. Xiang was determined to leave, the lady asked Eleventh Lady to send her out of the Chuihua Gate.
"It seems that the rumor that the eldest son of the Xiang family is unlucky in marriage is true?" The lady-in-waiting whispered to Mother Du about the affairs of the Xiang family.
Mother Du thought of the previous incident involving the eldest young lady and said with a smile, "This is a matter of personal opinion."
The lady nodded slightly. After all, it was someone else's family's business, so she put it aside. On the third day of the second lunar month, she dressed up and went to Xiang's house with the second lady, the eleventh lady, and the fifth lady to attend the wedding banquet.
While Mr. Xiang was in office, Mrs. Xiang took care of the family affairs. Because it was not a regular season, there were only about ten tables of guests. They were all close friends, talking casually, joking with each other and telling their own stories, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. However, these guests were not known to Mrs. Tai, Shiyi Niang and Wu Madam. Mrs. Xiang arranged them to sit in a small hall separated by a screen next to the flower hall. They were in a corner of their own, so they could hear the noise outside and not be too lonely; they could also avoid dealing with people outside and avoid socializing with strangers. The arrangement was very clever.
Whenever a guest comes in, there is always a bustling noise of greetings, greetings, and congratulations.
Someone was standing in front of the screen gossiping, "...Did you see the woman wearing the four-season flowered shawl made of Xiangyun gauze? That is the future mother-in-law of the third daughter of the Xiang family."
"I heard his surname is Gong, and he is from Jingzhou, Huguang. How could he be willing to marry his daughter so far away?"
"This is a famous family in Huguang, with many generations of officials and celebrities. Maybe the future son-in-law is diligent and studious. He can study in the Imperial College for a few years, and then work in the Hanlin Academy for a few years. When he can be released, he will be over 30 years old. It's better than finding a son in his hometown - if he doesn't go out to be an official, he will always feel that his children have no future; if he goes out to be an official, not only will he leave his hometown, but his daughter will stay alone in the boudoir, which is no different from Wang Baochuan."
"You are just a talker!" The other one laughed and teased the one who was speaking, "From the tone of your voice, it seems that being a Jinshi or a Tanhua scholar is such a simple matter..."
The lady sitting inside smiled and said, "So the third daughter of the Xiang family is going to marry in Huguang. I just don't know which family the second daughter is betrothed to?"
As he was speaking, the second lady walked in.
Her expression was natural, but her eyes were a little cold and she looked a little serious.
The Madam knew that she and her sister-in-law were not on good terms, and was afraid that if she did so, Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady would question her, so she quickly pulled her to her side and said with a smile, "You came at the right time. I just heard that the Third Miss married in Huguang. I wonder where this Zhou family is from?"
The second wife's expression eased slightly, and she smiled and said, "She is from Yongfeng, Jiangxi."
The Fifth Lady exclaimed, "The eldest daughter married in Yongfeng, Guangxi, and the third daughter married in Jingzhou, Huguang...Mrs. Xiang is really generous. I just don't know which family the second daughter is betrothed to?"
"I didn't ask!" The second wife smiled, "A daughter who is married off is like water spilled. I will just come to the wedding feast when the time comes!"
The air stagnated and the atmosphere seemed a little cold.
The Fifth Lady had also vaguely heard the rumor that "the Second Lady wanted to marry the Second Miss of the Xiang family to the Second Young Master."
If it were someone else, she would definitely make a joke, but when it came to the Second Lady, she couldn't help but hesitate.
Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady had the same idea.
Judging from the Second Madam's tone, it was clear that she didn't want to talk.
Is there something strange about this?
She went back and asked Xu Lingyi: "Is the Zhou family in Yongfeng, Jiangxi the local Wangwang?"
"Yes!" Xu Lingyi laughed, "There are people in their family who become officials in every generation. From the previous dynasty to now, there have been about twenty Jinshi scholars in the family. So someone once joked that 'there is no official without the Zhou Dynasty.'"
Eleventh Lady thought about it and told Xu Lingyi about the marriage between the Xiang family and the Zhou family.
Xu Lingyi didn't think much about it and said, "Master Xiang is a man with foresight."
As he was talking, a little maid came in and reported, "My Lord, Madam, Madam Fang from the eldest young lady's side is here!"
"It's so late, what's the matter?" Eleventh Lady murmured as she went to the hall and quickly returned: "My Lord, the eldest young mistress has diagnosed a happy pulse, and Madam Fang has come here on the orders of the eldest young master and the eldest young mistress to announce the good news!"
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