Chapter 47
The night was bone-chillingly cold, but Qiu Shuang Hall was brightly lit and bustling with people.
The second wife, Mrs. Jiang, kept chattering, complaining that Xu Shiwei was too careless and caused the child to suffer with her. She was a bit out of character, and the third wife was worried, so she sat with her in Qiu Shuang Hall. There was a floor heating in the main room, and the maids were worried that the ladies were cold, so they put a charcoal brazier at everyone's feet.
The eldest wife was not feeling well, so she sent Miao to visit her. The three young wives sat together.
My sister-in-law gave birth prematurely, and both mother and child were at risk. Everyone had a worried look on their faces.
Xie Yunchu was also worried about Xu Shiwei. At this time in her previous life, the Duke's Mansion was in mourning, so Xu Shiwei would never go out and stayed in Qiu Shuang Hall obediently. Later, she gave birth to Yue Ge'er safely. But in this life, this problem happened, and Xie Yunchu could not predict whether it would be good or bad.
Fourth Master Wang Shutong was an honest man who didn't talk much. He paced back and forth in front of the main hall, listening to his daughter-in-law crying in the inner room, and became anxious as an ant on the hot pan.
Seeing her son's appearance, Jiang sighed and said, "Don't stand here. If you are really worried, go in and take a look."
Although Jiang liked to set rules for her daughters-in-law, she actually did not take them seriously. She gave birth to four children, and each time she had the second master by her side. In her words, she wanted her husband to understand the hardships of women. She complained that her daughter-in-law was not steady enough, but she knew in her heart that the first child was difficult, and she was afraid that if something went wrong, her son would regret it.
Wang Shutong asked Jiang and the third wife Zhou with red eyes,
"Can I really get in?"
It is often said that the delivery room is dirty, and ordinary families do not allow men to enter the delivery room.
The eldest princess doesn't like these old customs and habits, so the royal family doesn't care about them either.
The Third Wife nodded at him and said, "It's okay to go in and take a look."
Wang Shutong rushed in without saying a word, and soon the sound of the young couple talking could be heard from inside. Xu Shiwei felt more aggrieved when she saw her husband crying, but the fear in her heart faded a little. Xu Shiwei was afraid that the child would be in danger, and that something would happen to herself.
She was crying her heart out inside.
The third wife heard it, entered the delivery room and shouted through the screen,
"What nonsense are you thinking? The baby is already eight months old. There are many babies born in eight months. Your baby is no different from a full-term baby. Save your strength and push hard when your cervix opens."
Xu Shiwei quickly stopped crying, "I understand, Auntie..."
Xie Yunchu and the others sat with the child for an hour, but there was still no movement. It was impossible for everyone in the house to stay here. The Third Madam thought that each family had children, so she told Xie Yunchu and the other two to go back.
"I will pass on the message when I have any news."
Xie Yunchu and the other two walked out of the door and onto the veranda. The crying sound behind them gradually faded away, and Dou Keling asked, "I wonder if Fourth Brother's wife will give birth to a daughter or a son?"
She secretly hoped that Xu Shiwei would give birth to a daughter. In this way, she would be the only one among the three daughters-in-law of the second wife to give birth to a son, and her mother-in-law would then look up to her.
Xie Yunchu pretended not to hear, but Miao replied, "As long as the mother and child are safe, no matter the boy or girl, our Duke's Mansion can't look down on them, right? Look, there are only three girls in our generation, so precious. There was a banquet at the Nan Mansion, and I went to see it. There were a lot of girls, and they were all pretty and charming."
The Wang family is very prosperous. In addition to the main branch, the Duke's Mansion, there are several side branches living in the south of the street, called the South Mansion. The South Mansion is not as prominent as the North Mansion, and they usually rely on this side for their livelihood.
After hearing this, Dou Keling naturally said that safety is the most important thing.
"By the way, if the baby is born tomorrow, what gift should we give?" As sisters-in-law, it is better to discuss with each other when giving gifts to avoid being embarrassed by giving different gifts.
Sister-in-law Miao has always been close to Xie Yunchu, and Dou Keling is worried that she will be left behind.
Miao looked at Xie Yunchu and asked, "How about the longevity lock?"
When Sister Ke was born, everyone gave her a red gold longevity lock.
Xie Yunchu nodded, and Dou Keling had no objection.
At 3:15 am the next morning, Xu Shiwei gave birth to a little boy. Both mother and child were safe, and the whole family was overjoyed. However, the child was born prematurely and was very weak, so the imperial physician had to take good care of him.
The Duke's Mansion hadn't had a baby for a long time. Upon hearing the news, the Duke happily rushed back from the palace. The old man came to the hall of the second room and sat down, his joy was beyond words.
Each family sent a gift, some were longevity locks, some were red gold necklaces, and some were jade pendants. The eldest princess also sent rewards from the palace, and the gift boxes filled up two long tables.
The room was bustling with activity, but the child was thin and weak, and it was freezing cold, so the Duke did not allow him to be brought out to see.
The Second Master smiled and asked the Duke, "Father, what do you think we should name the child?"
At this moment, Xie Yunchu suddenly raised his head.
She actually forgot that in her previous life, her child was born first, and the Duke named him Wang Wei according to seniority. In this life, Xu Shiwei took the lead, what if she gave the name Wei Ge'er to someone else?
Can't.
Seeing that the Duke was thinking about it, Xie Yunchu was so anxious that she broke out in a cold sweat. In a hurry, she blurted out, "Grandfather, I had a dream last night."
Everyone looked at her in surprise. Xie Yunchu's face was pale and almost transparent. She was no longer as calm as before. Everyone was very surprised. Even Dou Keling thought that Xie Yunchu was jealous because Xu Shiwei gave birth to a son.
The Duke asked, "What dream?"
Xie Yunchu forced himself to calm down and said with a smile, "I dreamt last night that my fourth brother's wife's child was born with a divine pearl in its mouth..."
The "divine pearl" can be called "Yue". After the Duke thought for a moment, he said to the Second Master, "Let's call him Wang Yue." This is also a very good implication.
After meeting his previous life, Xie Yunchu breathed a sigh of relief.
The second master hurriedly said yes and ordered the fourth master Wang Shutong to kneel down and kowtow to the Duke.
At this moment, the Duke looked at Xie Yunchu deeply.
If you ask whose children he most wants, it would naturally be Xie Yunchu and Wang Shuhuai.
It's a pity that Wang Shuhuai is busy building his career, and Xie Yunchu is unwilling to go to Jiangnan, and his great-grandson has yet to show up. Well, it's almost New Year's Eve, and Shuhuai should come back to rest for a while. After the spring, he can let Xie Yunchu take Ke Jie'er to Jinling.
The news of the naming soon reached Xu Shiwei. She had lost a lot of blood during childbirth and was now lying on the bed with lochia. She felt very weak. After hearing the nanny's report, she was surprised and became more energetic. "Did my second sister-in-law really have such a dream?"
The nanny was full of joy, "That's right, our brother was born with a divine pearl in his mouth. He is very powerful. This is a good sign."
Xu Shiwei still didn't quite believe it, so she turned around and called Wang Shutong, who explained to her personally, "The magic pearl does have a good meaning, and it's recorded in ancient books."
She said happily, "In this case, I will prepare a generous gift for my second sister-in-law when I get back."
Wang Shutong smiled, "That's as it should be."
On the same day that Xu Shiwei gave birth, Wang Shuhuai once again received a letter from Qi Wei.
This family letter contains thousands of words, describing the daily life of Xie Yunchu and her daughter in great detail.
The letter was too thick to be sent by carrier pigeon, so it was borrowed from the Wang family's cargo ship that sailed to the south of the Yangtze River. It took four or five days to arrive.
There were also some dead leaves picked up by Sister Ke in the envelope. They were in various shapes and were very interesting.
After reading it word by word, the scene of the mother and daughter playing in the yard emerged in my mind, and the fatigue of the day disappeared.
Wang Shuhuai found a strip of cloth at the bottom of the envelope. He unfolded it gently and a line of crooked handwriting came into view, clumsy and cute.
This was obviously written by Sister Ke, but it was not written by her.
She was so young, just over one year old, how could she hold a pen? Wang Shuhuai guessed that Xie Yunchu held the words written by his daughter, his thin lips slightly parted, and his joy was not concealed.
He gently put the "calligraphy" created by mother and daughter close to his body.
Thinking of what Xie Yunchu said to Prince Xin last time, the grudge in his heart about "divorce" completely disappeared. He only wanted to live with her wholeheartedly and ask for a decree for her as soon as possible.
While busy outside during the day, when passing by a street shop, a handsome young man in official robes stopped for the first time and selected a cart full of silks, satins, jewelry and toys to send to his wife and daughter in the capital.
There was a new member in the Duke's Mansion, and the Third Madam asked the Second Madam Jiang to help prepare eggs to distribute to the neighbors. She also had to prepare for the full moon banquet. Farmers from all over the country sent New Year's goods to Beijing one after another. The Third Madam thought that Xie Yunchu was meticulous and good at keeping accounts, so she simply handed the whole matter over to her.
When Xie Yunchu woke up in the morning, he didn't care about Sister Ke, so he went to the small third room behind the conference hall early, where he received the owners from various places and checked the rented goods.
In total, he met ten village heads and more than a dozen shop managers in three days. At first, these village heads and managers considered Xie Yunchu's young age and tried to be perfunctory with him. However, they did not expect that Xie Yunchu had been the head of the entire Duke's Mansion in his previous life. He knew exactly what was going on in these old foxes' minds and was able to deal with the matter with ease.
Silver was recorded in the account book and sent to the treasury, live poultry and game were placed in a forest and water pond in the northwest corner of the Duke's Mansion, and the remaining vegetables, melons and fruits were moved to the back kitchen. The northwest corner was where the servants of the Duke's Mansion lived. There were several rows of skirt rooms in front and back. The ones with their own doors and courtyards were the housekeepers with important positions in the mansion, and the rest were the maids and servants who did rough work. The east side was for the servants, the west side was for the maids, and men and women lived in separate courtyards.
Three days later in the evening, she took the entire account to the third wife for explanation. The third wife took a look at the account and looked worried.
"What's wrong with you?"
The third wife asked her to sit down and pointed to the general ledger.
"Every year we collect rent and earn money, and after deducting expenses, we distribute dividends to each room at the end of the year. Last year, each room received 10,000 taels, and we gave 2,000 taels to the Nan Mansion as New Year's money. But this year, I calculated the accounts and found that the harvest was 20,000 taels less than last year. In other words, the dividends of each room have dropped sharply. In the future, they will not say that the harvest this year is not good, but only blame me for not being able to manage the family."
Xie Yunchu had heard about the dividend distribution before, but these secrets were only circulated among the elders, and Jiang and the second master had never mentioned how much each family would get.
Today, the Third Wife said it in front of her without any scruples. This trust made Xie Yunchu feel pressured.
Xie Yunchu said with a smile, "Everyone knows that you are the most fair and just. If anyone is gossiping, let her be the head of the family."
The third wife was filled with bitterness after hearing this, "That's right, they all think I've got a great benefit, but they don't know that if someone takes over my job, I will have to burn incense to thank them."
Xie Yunchu just smiled and said nothing after hearing this. She sensed some vague intentions of the Third Wife and she didn't want to be the head of this family.
Wouldn't it be better to sit at the cashier at Linglong Embroidery? Why bother doing this thankless job?
The third wife felt disappointed when she saw that Xie Yunchu didn't react at all.
"Hey, once I hand over this account, it will definitely stir up a hornet's nest."
That night, the third wife invited the masters and mistresses of each room to discuss matters in the glass hall. She spread out the accounts and said straight to the point,
"This year's expenses are all here, and the harvest is also here. I have reserved the budget for the end of the year and the first half of next year. There are only 23,000 taels of silver left on the books, which is 20,000 taels less than last year. This is the amount of dividends this year. You can do whatever you want."
The fourth wife frowned, "Why are there only this much?"
Next she wants to marry off her daughter and find a wife, which will cost a lot of money, and she is counting on the dividends from the public treasury.
There is a rule in the Duke's Mansion. Since dividends are distributed to each room every year, the betrothal gifts for boys and dowries for girls are prepared by each room themselves. The Duke's Mansion is only responsible for the banquet. The Fourth Master also has some young illegitimate sons and daughters who live with their concubines on weekdays, but their marriages are still arranged by her, the legitimate mother. If the dividends are less, the Fourth Lady will be short of money.
The fourth master also frowned, picked up the expense account book and flipped through it. After reading a few pages, he muttered, "There are so many major expenses this year..."
The fourth wife took a look and suddenly saw a note of five thousand taels of silver signed by the Duke, so she pointed at it.
"What's this?"
The Third Wife stood up and took a look, then sighed, "This is the banknote that the Duke approved for Huainan to go to Nanjing."
The fourth wife's smile was somewhat forced upon hearing this, "This shouldn't belong to the public."
The room was quiet.
The fourth wife drank her tea and watched everyone's reactions.
Jiang's face was a little stiff, and the second master narrowed his eyes in thought. The first wife's husband made all the decisions and dared not say a word. The first master and the second master did not have a good relationship on weekdays. Anyway, he only dared to compete with the second master in this mansion, so he said,
"It really shouldn't be done publicly."
When the eldest princess brought her eldest son to the Wang family, she privately allocated some land to the Duke's Mansion in order to make the Wang family accept the child. Therefore, over the years, the eldest master did not feel wronged in using the Wang family's money.
The second master was a man who cared about his reputation and was fair-minded. He was not the kind of person who would take advantage of others. He was willing to accept the offer, so he looked at his wife.
Jiang was not convinced and sneered, "My son is bringing honor to the Duke's Mansion. What's wrong with the Duke's Mansion granting him some banknotes? If you have the guts, don't say you are Shu Huai's uncles, and don't say your children are Shu Huai's brothers and sisters."
"Why, you spared no effort when it came to taking advantage, but when it came to paying the bills, you didn't touch anyone?"
There is some truth in this.
But the Fourth Madam refused to give in. "According to what Second Sister-in-law said, every child in the family is bringing honor to the family. So, should the expenses for my son's education also be paid by the public?"
"Aren't pens and ink produced by Gongzhong?"
"A little writing is nothing. Books, school affairs, and interpersonal relationships are the big things. Why can Shu Huai's interpersonal relationships be paid for by the government, but we sons can't?"
"That's because your son hasn't passed the imperial examination yet and is not the top scholar of the dynasty. Only after he passes the examination, Fourth Sister-in-law will have the confidence to say these words." Jiang said with a leisurely smile.
The fourth wife was almost choked to death.
"I don't care. Shu Huai's five thousand taels must be deducted from your second branch's dividend."
The fourth master felt that his wife's tone was too strong, so he said a few kind words, "Second brother, Yi Jie'er is the only one left unmarried in your family. Her dowry is at most 6,000 taels. There is not much to spend, but our family has not done anything serious yet."
The son has not yet married, the daughter has not yet married, not to mention the younger ones.
The fourth master felt a lot of pressure.
Jiang was worried that her husband would be easily deceived, so she immediately shut up the fourth master.
"Fourth brother, to be honest, my three sons got married one after another in the past two years, and I was very tight on money, but I didn't make up for it with public funds. When it was the most difficult, I used jewelry to prepare gifts for my daughters-in-law. Now you say it's difficult, but it's just talk. When we are really stretched to the limit, can Your Highness the Princess take care of it?"
On weekdays, the other three families often competed with the eldest princess, and the eldest princess gave a lot of money to her sons in private.
The Duke's Mansion's assets are not worth mentioning in the eyes of the Princess. Her Royal Highness the Princess is the one who is truly wealthy enough to rival a country.
So even though the fourth house was crying poor, Jiang didn't believe it at all.
Jiang's words were very blunt, and the other families looked at each other in bewilderment.
When Jiang said this, she somehow caught a glimpse of the Fourth Madam's attire.
"Oh, Fourth Sister-in-law is wearing a brocade gown with exquisite embroidery, right? I heard that exquisite embroidery is very expensive. Fourth Sister-in-law's dress cost at least several hundred taels of silver. Even if you just clip your fingers, it's enough to marry a daughter-in-law to other families. Why are you crying poor here?"
The fourth wife was furious, "I spent my dowry money. I saved all the dividends from the public treasury for my children to get married."
"Public affairs are public affairs, private affairs are private affairs. At least I have made plans for the children, unlike my second sister-in-law, who only cares about eating, drinking and having fun, and orders the three daughters-in-law around."
"My eldest sister-in-law and I usually go to the palace to serve my mother-in-law, and my third sister-in-law is in charge of the household. Only my second sister-in-law has nothing to do with it. Do you feel at ease taking the dividends from the public property?"
Jiang blushed at what she said, "I would like to go to the palace to serve my mother, but I'm afraid she won't like me." She quickly dropped the topic and glanced at the silent Third Madam.
"Third sister-in-law, you are usually the most fair person, what do you think we should do about this matter?"
The third wife couldn't help but smile bitterly. She didn't want to offend anyone for no reason.
"From a private perspective, it makes sense for Shu Huai's second wife to pay for the five thousand taels, but from a public perspective, this is the Duke's approval bill. Since it is the Duke's approval bill, it is naturally a public account and has nothing to do with the second wife."
The Third Wife glanced at her husband and said in a negotiating tone, "Shu Huai has brought a lot of honor to our Wang family. It is reasonable for the Duke to give him special approval. How about keeping these five thousand taels as public money? What do you think?"
When the Duke and the Princess are not at home, the Third Master is the one who makes the final decisions on all the difficult matters in the mansion.
Everyone is convinced by him.
The Third Master is now working in the Censorate. He has to go to the Ministry of Revenue to get approval tickets. Wang Shuhuai has a bright future and may be able to take charge of the Ministry of Revenue in the future. He cannot be offended.
"Father's approval ticket is naturally from the public. If one day any of our children is successful and can get the approval ticket from father and mother, we will treat them the same way."
Everyone was speechless.
The fourth wife's face turned pale and she pursed her lips. She was the first to get up and leave.
The fourth master quickly apologized to his brothers and got up to comfort his wife.
Jiang was refreshed and showed off to her husband when she returned home, "If I hadn't given birth to such an outstanding son for you, you wouldn't be as successful as you are today."
The second master smiled.
"It's the end of the year now, and I don't know if Huai'er can stay in the mansion for a little longer."
When talking about her son, Jiang's eyes were red. "That's right. Now the fourth son also has a son, and he has only one daughter in his family. I feel sad every time I think of it. If Xie doesn't get pregnant next year, I must find a concubine for Huai'er."
Seeing his wife was starting to mess around again, the second master quickly pushed her into the house and said, "Hey, stop making trouble. Maybe you're making trouble for her every other day, and she's upset, so she can't get pregnant. Besides, Huai'er is not at home, so how can you let a woman like her get pregnant?"
Jiang was angry and amused when she heard this. She was pushed into the warm inner room by her husband. She took off her coat and threw it into his arms, sneering, "You are considerate, but aren't you anxious about having an heir?"
The second master was also anxious, "Next year, let Huai's daughter-in-law follow us south!"
Seeing that his wife's anger had not subsided, the second master stepped forward and advised her in a good temper, "Father said before that Shu Huai's son must be born from Xie's belly, and no one is allowed to give him a concubine. Don't make father unhappy again."
Jiang snorted coldly and said nothing.
Her parents-in-law had never said a word for her over the years, but now they are supporting Mrs. Xie in every way.
Jiang couldn't swallow this anger, she glared at her husband and said,
"Hey, the New Year is coming soon. Find someone to go to that exquisite embroidery shop and buy me a set of clothes. I get angry when I see the fourth wife. Look at her wearing gold and silver today. She looks so rich, and she still has the nerve to complain about her poverty to us. No, I can't let others compare to her."
The second master's ears are almost callused from all the nagging lately.
"Okay, okay, I'll ask someone to reserve one for you. I guarantee you'll have a great time on New Year's Eve."
Chun Jing Tang.
Xie Yunchu was lying on the bed, holding Ke'er and singing a lullaby. Little Ke'er was leaning in her mother's elbow in a daze, with her eyelids drooping.
When Nanny Lin saw this, her eyes suddenly turned red for some reason.
Chunqi came in with a basin of water to soak Xie Yunchu's feet. Seeing this, he put the water aside, quietly pulled Nanny Lin out, and whispered, "What's wrong with you again?"
No one knows the pain in Nanny Lin's heart. She said with tears in her eyes, "The other families are flourishing, but our daughter has been infertile for a long time, and the second master is away from home all year round. I don't know how harsh the words in the backyard must be. I feel sorry for our daughter."
Chunqi's eyes turned red.
Xia An heard it outside, lifted the bead curtain, and smiled charmingly.
"What's there to be wronged about? Maybe others envy our son-in-law for his success and ability, and some even envy our daughter for opening a famous shop. Every family has its unsatisfactory things. Let's be more open-minded. As for children, everyone will have them. They will come sooner or later."
Nanny Lin felt relieved when she heard Xia An's rapid-fire speech. "You little bitch, you are so lovable only because of your mouth."
Xia An held his face in his hands, "Why is it that only my mouth is likable? The girl said that my personality is likable and my appearance is likable too."
Xia An has a round face and looks very cute when she smiles.
Chunqi snorted at her and said with a smile, "Come on, come on. You are the only useful person around the girl. We are just useless people. One day, kick us all out and you will be the only one to serve her."
Xie Yunchu lifted the curtain and came out, scolding everyone, "What are you talking about? Who are you going to kick out?"
Everyone kept silent, some served tea, some poured water, and helped her wash up.
Xie Yunchu sat down to soak his feet and told Chunqi, "Go to the big kitchen tomorrow to get our share. We won't eat at the public house tomorrow. We'll cook in our own small kitchen."
Chunqi responded, "Okay, Miss, do you have guests?"
Xia An said from the side, "The young lady of the Minister of Rites' residence and the second young lady of the Ning Marquis' residence have sent invitations and are coming over to play tomorrow." He was referring to Jiang Fan and Shen Yi.
"I see. Then I will prepare myself well."
After a while, Xia An waited for Xie Yunchu to go in and rest. Chunqi was helping Xie Yunchu to sort out her clothes. When Nanny Lin was about to go to the back room, she saw Chunqi holding some menstrual notes in her hand and her heart tightened. "Miss, are you having your period?"
Chunqi said, "Not yet, but only in the next two days. I will prepare first."
Nanny Lin's heart suddenly shuddered.
Xie Yunchu's period came on the 20th last month. It was common for her period to come a day earlier or later every month, but today was already the 23rd.
Nanny Lin's heart was ablaze with hope, and even her chest was beating like a drum.
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