Chapter 379 Uninvited Guest
Xie Wanniang always spoke her mind. With Lady Du's prior notice, the women discussed the topic at the banquet, and Xie Wanniang shared her conclusions after careful consideration.
"As for the art of controlling one's husband, I certainly don't have that skill. My husband, Lord Jiang, has no concubines and doesn't frequent brothels. There are many reasons for this."
"First of all, he has good character and is self-disciplined. He can also put himself in my shoes and think from my perspective. Just as he certainly doesn't want me to have other men, he can naturally understand that I don't want him to have other women."
Upon hearing her say this, the women present couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
Indeed, the most crucial factor in preventing a husband from being unfaithful is the kind of person he is.
Those who are addicted to brothels and even want to dalliance with the maids in their own homes, would probably never be able to renounce their desires unless they are completely exhausted or on their deathbed.
But the problem is, how many men in this world can put their wives on an equal footing with themselves and consider things from their perspective?
Hasn't this world always tacitly allowed men to be promiscuous and dissolute, while demanding that women adhere to the three obediences and four virtues?
Men and even women who grow up in this environment have basically been brainwashed by this logic and have come to regard such unfairness as a matter of course.
Xie Wanniang listened with a smile to their hushed discussions, which were full of emotion. It wasn't until everyone had finished talking and urged her to tell her the other reasons that she continued to speak with a smile.
"The second reason is that we have always been evenly matched. He has indeed been rising through the ranks through his own efforts, but I have not simply rested on his laurels."
"Of course, I'm not saying that other women have to be like me. My husband, Lord Jiang, doesn't need me to manage the household, serve my elders, or spend a lot of time and energy dealing with the inevitable trivial matters in a large family. I don't even need to frequently help him with social interactions. Whether it's relatives, friends, colleagues, or superiors, he has never required me to have much contact with any of their female relatives."
“You have all contributed just as much, but in different areas than I have. I am helping myself, while you are helping men achieve their goals.”
Everyone: ...
Xie Wanniang smiled, “My contributions have been recognized by the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty, and my Lord Jiang has never thought of taking credit for my work. But it’s different for you. Most of your contributions are taken for granted, as your responsibilities and obligations.”
Some men even shamelessly exploit their wives, appropriating their contributions to the family and their careers while ignoring their sacrifices and recklessly trampling on and hurting them for their own twisted and unspeakable desires.
It's as if as long as they can still bully their own people, still hurt, torment, control, and exploit their wives and children, they can ignore their own incompetence, baseness, and shamelessness, can change their incompetence and humility in front of outsiders, and can continue to deceive themselves that they are still arrogant and superior.
Even the most virtuous and gentle woman will stumble when she encounters this kind of person, and she will never be able to manage her married life well.
Unlike Jiang Yuan, who not only worked exceptionally hard himself, he also always acknowledged Xie Wanniang's contributions to their family and her help with his career.
"Another point is that he knows I have zero tolerance for my husband taking concubines or having affairs. I am willing to go all out and have the ability to pay the price for my willful behavior, but he doesn't want to part ways with me completely, so he intentionally avoids crossing my bottom line."
"Of course, I'm not completely unreasonable or ignoring the actual situation. If he had this idea himself, I certainly wouldn't swallow my anger or compromise. But if someone else is plotting against him, then I will definitely stand with him against them."
After all, there are quite a few people in this world who are scheming to take shortcuts for their own benefit. Even if Jiang Yuan guards against thieves for a thousand days, there will always be a day when he can't guard against the schemes of villains.
Xie Wanniang will not abandon him just because he was tricked by someone. As long as he remains true to his original intentions, Xie Wanniang is willing to stand by him forever.
After recounting her story with Jiang Yuan, satisfying the curiosity of the women present, Xie Wanniang quickly changed the subject and started chatting with everyone about other things.
The banquet ended smoothly amidst everyone's harmonious conversation. Xie Wanniang tirelessly saw all the guests off at the second gate and onto their carriages before returning to the main courtyard to wash and change.
After changing out of her new clothes, which smelled of food, Xie Wanniang lay comfortably in the bedroom, letting Cunyu gently wipe her hair.
Cunyu's movements were skillful and she didn't pull Xie Wanniang's hair, so Xie Wanniang quickly became drowsy because of the warmth in the room.
Normally, Xie Wanniang would quickly finish her work at Cunyu, quietly slip away, and fall asleep. However, she was not so fortunate today.
Cunyu had just dried her hair until it was half dry when the old woman guarding the second gate came to the door to ask for an audience.
She told Xie Wanniang that a group of uninvited guests had arrived outside the mansion, claiming to be Jiang Yuan's parents and brothers.
Xie Wanniang: ......
Jiang Tong's family had been like invisible people for a long time, and she thought they had finally given up. But unexpectedly, on the day they moved to their new home, this family recklessly reappeared.
She asked the old woman, "What was their attitude like? Were they arrogant and domineering, or were they trying to gain sympathy by playing the victim?"
The old woman shook her head. "No, that's not it. I heard from Dazhuang who came to report that they've done nothing but refuse to leave."
Xie Wanniang: ......
So this is another new strategy? This is never going to end.
She pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright, let them come in and sit down."
Although she and Jiang Yuan would never agree to acknowledge their ancestral roots as they wished, it must be said that this family had certainly piqued her curiosity.
She was genuinely curious about what other tricks this family could come up with.
After having Cunyu help her style her hair into a simple men's bun, Xie Wanniang changed her clothes and went to see the Jiang family.
She was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, like a man. Although she couldn't be mistaken for a man, it was enough to make the Jiang family extremely uncomfortable.
What's particularly striking is that she actually met all of them in the front yard, instead of inviting the female guests to the back courtyard and having the steward of the front yard take charge of entertaining the male guests.
The Jiang family was extremely dissatisfied with her "unruly" behavior, but considering the purpose of their visit, none of them dared to speak out or express their dissatisfaction.
However, their silence does not mean they haven't revealed their true thoughts.
The disdainful looks they gave Xie Wanniang, and the contempt and disdain in their expressions that they couldn't completely hide even when they tried to conceal it, Xie Wanniang, unless she was blind or stupid, would definitely notice.
Of course, this is not because Xie Wanniang is good at reading people's expressions, but because many of them are simply not good at controlling their facial expressions.
Apart from Jiang Tong and his wife, who behaved reasonably well, the other members of the Jiang family who came along all had incredibly blunt expressions.
It's no exaggeration to say that if someone wants to be more knowledgeable than others, then that person only has one option: to put words on their face.
As soon as Xie Wanniang saw the Jiang family descendants in the house, she knew why Jiang Tong always couldn't forget Jiang Yuan.
There's no way around it; comparing people is a recipe for disaster, and comparing goods is a recipe for disaster.
She took her seat in the main seat without any hesitation, and asked, "May I ask what brings you all here so abruptly?"
The implication is that it's not appropriate for you to stay at my doorstep and refuse to leave unless there's something really serious going on.
Jiang Tong and Madam Han clearly understood the implication behind Xie Wanniang's words. Their expressions changed slightly, but they quickly forced themselves to put on a smiling face again.
Madam Han spoke first, "Sixth Sister..."
"Please call me Princess." Xie Wanniang bluntly reminded Han Shi, who was trying to get closer to her, "The title of Sixth Sister is not something anyone can use. Also, you haven't bowed to me yet."
This family is quite amusing. Judging from the fact that they simply lingered at the entrance of the princess's residence instead of trying to make a scene and attract onlookers, they have indeed restrained themselves this time. However, it is clear that their restraint is neither willing nor thorough.
When people describe someone who refuses to give up their original ideas or practices until they encounter a clear failure or setback, they say "they won't turn back until they hit a brick wall." But in Xie Wanniang's view, Jiang Tong was clearly someone who wouldn't turn back even after hitting a brick wall.
She and Jiang Yuan rejected his advances and fought back against his coercion so many times that Xie Wanniang couldn't even remember the exact number. If it were anyone else, they probably would have given up long ago, but Jiang Tong was persistent and became more courageous with each setback.
In the early days, relying on the high status of the Marquis's mansion, he arrogantly sent a few subordinates to try to acknowledge Jiang Yuan. After being rejected, he took the initiative to write letters and send gifts, trying to soften Jiang Yuan's attitude. When he found that the appeasement policy had no effect, he came up with another bizarre scene: he sent his sister to test Jiang Yuan's attitude first, and then had his servants complain at the city gate, trying to force Jiang Yuan to compromise through public opinion.
After all his methods failed and he was even threatened with taking the case to the emperor, Jiang Tong finally stopped making trouble.
Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan both thought he had given up completely, but after Xie Wanniang's family moved to the Princess's Mansion, he actually came looking for them with his wife and children.
In that instant, Xie Wanniang inexplicably hallucinated the legendary indestructible cockroach, the kind that was clearly plotting and scheming against others, yet still unable to let go of its pride and considered itself superior.
Look at this family. The resentment and unwillingness of having to bow down to evil forces due to circumstances, and the deep contempt and disdain they have for her, a "village girl from a poor and remote place who just got lucky," are all coming together to form a tornado.
Such obvious malice and hostility would probably only go unnoticed by Xie Wanniang if she lost all six senses.
Leaving aside those idiots, even the seemingly shrewd Jiang Tong and Han Shi didn't find anything wrong with their expressions and eyes, which shows that these two actually have the same thought process as the idiots they brought.
They didn't really treat Jiang Yuan as family; their persistent pursuit was simply for personal gain.
They didn't really realize their mistakes, nor did they stop trying to cause trouble or use those disgusting methods against Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they had realized those methods wouldn't work.
When one method failed, they switched to another. Their "changes" were so small and superficial that they made people want to laugh.
Xie Wanniang would certainly not show mercy to such a person.
She bluntly reminded everyone, including Jiang Tong, that they had to pay their respects to her, the princess.
Jiang Tong and the others were so angry that their faces turned pale. They said the same thing again: they had never respected Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang.
Even though they, like everyone else, were keenly aware that Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang were no longer the same people they once were, for some subtle psychological reason, they were still unable to face the change in their status with Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang.
They coveted the power, status, and wealth represented by Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang, wanting all the control and interests they held. They even wished the two of them would die immediately so that they could replace them. However, they were unwilling to admit that the two of them had achieved a reversal of power between the two and the Marquis's family, and they were even less willing to face, respect, or even flatter Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang.
They couldn't let go of their pride, so the older one kept trying to suppress the other with his seniority, while the younger one kept hypnotizing himself with the early experiences of Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang, repeatedly telling himself that they were just two country bumpkins who got lucky.
People who hold this kind of thinking will naturally not have much respect for Xie Wanniang.
Even though she is now a princess, they still feel that Xie Wanniang is not worthy of their respect.
Especially Han, who was brought over by Jiang Tong to play the role of a loving mother through a combination of threats and inducements, not only never thought of bowing to Xie Wanniang according to the rules, but also, because she was Xie Wanniang's actual mother-in-law, she was eager to try to control Xie Wanniang.
Of course, she wouldn't choose this time to set rules for Xie Wanniang. She had already planned to arrange the so-called control over Xie Wanniang after Jiang Yuan recognized his ancestors.
By then, Jiang Yuan would have already been coaxed back, and the die was cast. They couldn't afford to turn against their own parents over some trivial matters, could they? Then she and Jiang Tong would have enough reason and a suitable position to discipline their juniors as they pleased.
At that time, she would definitely repay Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang for all the grievances she was forced to endure and be subservient to them.
—Although she did not actually grovel, in Han's heart, she felt that as Jiang Yuan's biological mother, she was forced to bow down and show goodwill to Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang. Just for this reason alone, she had already suffered a great injustice.
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