Chapter 80: Be more thoughtful in the future
The next day, before the morning court session began, civil and military officials waited outside the palace gate.
Master Zhang came over and talked to his brother-in-law Jiang Cheng. He first showed concern for Jiang Shen's studies, praising Jiang Shen for his intelligence and promising him success in the next spring examination. He also mentioned that he hadn't seen his nephew Jiang Shen for more than ten years, implying that he wanted to meet Jiang Shen.
Jiang Cheng said that Jiang Shen has been studying hard since he came back, reviewing his lessons every morning and evening, and focusing on his studies. The implication is that he is not considering anything else now.
Neither of them said it out loud. Both of them were veterans in the officialdom, so there was no need to make their meanings too clear. It was enough for both of them to understand.
After the court session, Master Zhang came to the mansion to meet Jiang Shen. Jiang Cheng asked Xie Yun to come and meet the guest as well. Master Zhang examined the knowledge of the two men, praised them highly, and did not say anything else. He sat for a while and then said goodbye.
After returning to Zhang's house, Du asked Jiang Cheng what his attitude was and whether he agreed to the marriage.
"My brother-in-law said that his brother Shen is currently focused on his studies, so let's talk about marriage after the Spring Imperial Examination." Master Zhang advised again, "Don't bother with it. If his brother Shen passes the imperial examination, there will be many families who want to marry into his family, and they may not be interested in ours. If that happens, it will be a waste of time and we will be laughed at."
Mrs. Du sneered, "Don't think no one knows about his family's affairs. How could a sister cause a scene at her sister's wedding? His family has long been a laughing stock. And why did your sister suddenly return to her hometown? Why don't you ask him in person and see what he says?"
Master Zhang didn't want to argue with Mrs. Du any more, so he said he had some official business to attend to and went to his study.
Mrs. Du knew that she could no longer rely on Master Zhang, so she started to think about it herself. Then she asked someone to call her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhu, and asked her to bring some supplements to visit Jiang Yao tomorrow. She also gave her some instructions.
The next day, Zhu came to the Duke's Mansion with some supplements. Coincidentally, Jiang Yao and her elder sister-in-law Li were both with the Duke's wife, so Zhu went to pay her respects to the Duke's wife first. After chatting with her for a while, the Duke's wife felt a little tired, so she took Li away first and asked Jiang Yao to stay with Zhu, her cousin-in-law, for a while.
After leaving, the Duke's wife told Li that Zhu was such a dull person who couldn't even speak. After all, she came from a small place and had no knowledge at all.
Li said a good word for Zhu, which made the Duke's wife unhappy. The Duke's wife brought up old matters again, saying that she and Pei Yu had been married for three years and had only one daughter. If it weren't for Pei Qian, the Duke's Mansion's incense would have been cut off.
These words touched Li's heart and lungs. Li's eyes turned red and she wiped her tears with a handkerchief while admitting her mistake.
The Duke's wife couldn't bear to see her looking so sad and unhappy, so she sent her back.
After returning, Pei Yu saw that Li's eyes were a little red, as if she had been crying. He knew that she must have been wronged again, so he comforted her and told her not to take it to heart.
Li brought up the matter of taking a concubine again, but Pei Yu rejected it sternly. He softened his tone and comforted her, saying that since he had promised her not to take a concubine in the future, he would not go back on his word. Moreover, they were still young, and it would not be too late to have a child after she recovered.
Only after Pei Yu's comfort did Li feel relieved.
…
The next morning, Jiang Yao returned to the Shangshu Mansion.
Jiang Cheng went to court, Jiang Rui also went to school, and Xie Yun took Jiang Shen to visit the friends he had met a few days ago. They were all candidates who came to Beijing to take part in the spring examination and they had similar interests.
It’s not good to always stay in the room reading books, as it’s easy to get stuck in a rut.
It was a rare day with good weather. The sun was shining warmly on people's bodies. Jiang Lan was lying on a lounge chair in the yard to bask in the sun, while Qing'er was sitting beside her doing needlework.
The three little maids, Gui'er, Lu'er, Cui'er and Xiaohong, squatted together to play with the nine-ring puzzle.
When the housekeeper led Jiang Yao over, Qing'er saw them first, reported to Jiang Lan, put the embroidery frame in her hand into the sewing basket, stood up to greet them, and called Gui'er again. Gui'er gave the Nine Rings to Lu'er and let the three of them play by themselves. She went to wait for Jiang Lan.
"I really envy my second sister. She eats and sleeps every day, and doesn't have to worry about anything." Jiang Yao glanced at Jiang Lan lying on the recliner, then raised her hand to touch her slightly bulging belly. "Unlike me, I can't eat anything after getting pregnant. I wish I had a good appetite like my second sister."
"..." Jiang Lan felt that she had almost called herself a pig, and said in a light tone, "What's the matter with Third Sister coming here today?"
Hua'er helped Jiang Yao over and scolded her, "Why don't you bring a chair over? Do you want the young lady to stand and talk all the time?"
Qing'er picked up the sewing basket on the stool and asked Jiang Yao to sit down. Jiang Yao didn't even look at her. Hua'er instructed Gui'er to move a chair from the house. Gui'er didn't listen to her. Hua'er glared at her angrily. Qing'er asked Lu'er and Cui'er to move the chair from the house.
Hua'er wiped it with a handkerchief again before Jiang Yao sat down.
Gui'er was furious. "Everything in our yard is very clean. There's no need to clean it!"
Hua'er said, "Young lady is pregnant now, so she has to be careful about her food, clothing, housing and transportation." She added, "Second Young Lady didn't say anything, so do you have any say?"
Gui'er was so angry that she wanted to fight with Hua'er, but was stopped by Qing'er.
"Third sister should go out less often, or better yet, not go out at all." Jiang Lan said lightly.
Jiang Yao said in a strange voice: "Can't I come back to see Daddy? I heard that my second sister is now the head of the family. How come she can't even tolerate a younger sister like me?"
"What are you talking about, Third Miss?" Qing'er had just said this when Jiang Yao glared at her. She said, "Do you have the right to interrupt me when I'm talking to Second Sister?"
"Third sister, just say what you want to say. There's no need to beat around the bush." Jiang Lan said.
Jiang Yao said, "I heard that the day before yesterday, my aunt came to visit my elder brother, but my second sister tried to stop her and even drove her out. My aunt is still my second sister's elder after all. If this gets out, who knows what those people outside will say about my second sister and our Shangshu Mansion?"
"Who told you that, Third Sister?" Jiang Lan raised her eyes calmly, her calm yet sharp gaze coming over. Jiang Yao lowered her head again, feeling suppressed, and said reluctantly, "My cousin told me yesterday..."
"So, Third Sister is willing to be used as a pawn?" Jiang Yao was about to open her mouth to refute, but was once again suppressed by Jiang Lan's gaze. She said calmly, "Your last name is Jiang, not Zhang. Don't be so mean."
Jiang Yao was about to speak again, but Jiang Lan hadn't finished yet.
"In the future, be more smart and don't let others use you as a tool again."
“…”
Jiang Yao was so angry that she didn't say a word. Hua'er wanted to stand up for her, but just as she opened her mouth, Jiang Lan looked over and she lowered her head.
"Third sister, do you want to sit for a while and wait for daddy to come back, or go back first?"
As Jiang Lan stood up, Jiang Yao also stood up. She wanted to say something to save face, but Jiang Lan looked at her indifferently, so she took the painting and left.
As soon as she got on the carriage, Jiang Yao started saying bad things about Jiang Lan to Hua'er, venting all the unhappiness in her heart. Hua'er also agreed very attentively, and Jiang Yao felt relieved.
Then she asked the driver to change the route to Zhang's house.
After meeting her aunt Du, Jiang Yao exaggerated what Jiang Lan said and made up a story. To sum it up, Jiang Lan was now lawless and no one could control her.
Mrs. Du said that she would send someone to bring Mrs. Zhang back, and asked Jiang Yao whether Mrs. Zhang had really returned to her hometown, or if there was some other hidden story?
Jiang Yao nodded hesitantly and said that she had gone back to her hometown.
Mrs. Du comforted her and told her not to be afraid, saying that her aunt would make the decision on everything, and asked her to tell him everything she knew.
In fact, Jiang Yao knew nothing about it and was a little hesitant, so she said that she had not been back to her parents' home during that period. When she returned to her parents' home, she heard that her mother was sick and had returned to her hometown to recuperate.
Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of him, Mrs. Du asked Jiang Yao to go back first.
The next day, Du sent her confidant to Jiang Cheng's hometown to inquire about the news, and received a reply a few days later.
Zhang was indeed recuperating in the Jiang family's old house. She was quite ill. It seemed that the root of the disease was laid by the previous epidemic, and it took some time for the disease to break out.
Mrs. Du did not investigate further and could only think of other ways to facilitate this marriage.
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