Chapter 5 The Wen family does not value嫡庶 (legitimate and illegitimate children).
The invitation to Princess Mingzhu's birthday banquet caused a sensation in the Wen family no less than when Wen Tongwen passed the imperial examination.
Inside Shou Kang Hall, Old Madam Wen sat upright.
Wen Tongwen and his wife, Xiang, took their seats in the round-backed chairs to his left.
Even the Wen Tongwu couple and the Wen Tongfu couple rushed over and took their seats in turn.
The room was quiet, and the charcoal in the brazier burned silently, without smoke or noise.
Grandma Wen held a string of eighteen white jade beads in her aged hands.
The crisp sound of the jade beads colliding and cracking grew increasingly rapid, even more hurried than the wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner.
No one dared to breathe loudly in the hall. Even the Third Master Wen Tongfu, who was used to lording it over everyone at home, kept his eyes down and remained silent.
The sound of the jade beads spinning stopped abruptly.
Grandma Wen's clear gaze swept over the three couples below her, her voice devoid of any emotion.
"Who do you think should we bring to Princess Mingzhu's birthday banquet?"
The people below the hall had already heard about this matter.
They all knew that the main point of what Old Mrs. Wen was saying today was not this.
"I will listen to my mother."
Wen Tongwen lowered his head, adopting a respectful demeanor.
With the eldest brother having expressed his opinion, the two younger brothers were not to be outdone.
Grandma Wen's gaze swept around before finally settling on the white jade eighteen beads in her hand.
The jade beads have a warm and smooth texture and are also inlaid with gemstones.
It was clearly an excellent string of beads, but when it was turned, it stirred the hearts of many people.
"Fourth Sister and Third Brother need no further explanation."
"Xiang family."
"Would you be willing to bring Sheng-jie and Rui-ge along?"
Grandma Wen lowered her head and gently stroked the jade bead. Although her words were a question, they brooked no refusal.
Xiang's heart sank.
The Wen family has many descendants.
Wen Tongwen's lineage has two sons and five daughters, Wen Tongwu's lineage also has two sons and one daughter, and even Wen Tongfu, that good-for-nothing third master, has one son and two daughters.
With so many children, it's impossible to bring them all.
The handkerchief was almost poked with a hole.
Xiang's expression was displeased.
The "Sheng-jie'er" mentioned by Old Madam Wen refers to Wen Tongwen's eldest daughter from a concubine, Wen Lingsheng, the eldest daughter of the household; while "Rui-ge'er" refers to the eldest son of the second wife, Wen Shirui, the eldest son of the household.
What about her daughter, Yun-jie?
Xiang felt resentful.
But since she was married and had long since stopped contacting her family, she was now in a real dilemma.
Old Madam Wen's words delighted Second Madam Xue.
Xue came from a respectable family; her father was a scholar with official rank, but he was still inferior to Xiang.
The third wife, Madam Lu, and Lu Xiaoniang, who worked in Wen Tongwen's study, were sisters from the same mother and were both the direct nieces of Old Madam Wen.
In terms of family background, she was not as good as the Xiang family; in terms of her closeness to Old Madam Wen, she was not as good as the Lu sisters.
In front of Old Madam Wen, Madam Xue was always cautious and timid.
She never expected to gain any advantage, but unexpectedly, in broad daylight, a great opportunity fell into her lap.
If Wen Tongwu hadn't been mindful of Xiang Shi's restraint, she probably would have jumped three feet high.
They really are all talk and no action!
Wen Tongwu sighed deeply.
Madam Xue's short-sightedness and her unseemly appearance greatly displeased Old Madam Wen.
He couldn't help but regret that he had been blinded by an eagle back then, choosing such a wife for his second son.
Fortunately, Ruige'er is a good person.
Grandma Wen comforted herself.
“Since it was arranged by the mother, the daughter-in-law has nothing wrong with it.”
Xiang calmed himself down and answered.
Having observed Xiang's reaction, Old Madam Wen nodded with satisfaction.
As a matriarch, one must not only be good at managing the household, but also learn to be patient and prioritize the overall situation.
After calmly glancing at Xue Shi, whose mouth was practically stretched to her ears, Old Madam Wen slammed the white jade eighteen-beads in her hand heavily onto the table.
The room fell silent, and Madam Xue trembled violently.
"They are both children with the surname Wen."
"Regardless of whether they are sons or daughters, or whether they are born of the principal wife or a concubine."
"Since we are born from the same root, we should naturally be of the same breath and connected branches."
Grandma Wen's gaze swept over her sons and daughters-in-law below her, her words carrying a hidden meaning.
“Back in Lin’an, I, this old woman, would turn a blind eye to some minor matters.”
"But now, we are in Shengjing!"
"Dislike is fine! But mistreatment is unacceptable!"
"Same script".
Do you understand?
When Grandma Wen called out his name, Wen Tongwen hurriedly got up.
He bowed to Old Madam Wen, bending even lower at the waist.
"Yes, Mother."
Having received a satisfactory reply, Old Madam Wen turned her attention to the second and third wives.
Madam Xue was all bark and no bite; after being intimidated by Old Madam Wen, how could she possibly refuse?
As for Madam Lu, she was completely obedient to Old Madam Wen.
The saying goes, "Give a slap and then a sweet date." After warning everyone, Old Madam Wen ordered the servants to hand over the prepared items to the wives of each household.
The guys all had the same set of writing implements;
The women were all wearing the same headdresses and jewelry.
Although the styles are different, the actual differences are almost non-existent.
Xiang returned to Yiqiu Courtyard, marveling at Old Madam Wen's keen insight.
As soon as she sat down, Madam Pang presented her with a bushel of South Sea pearls.
"This was delivered by the maid after the old lady's dinner."
"It's for Sister Yun."
I gently picked up a South Sea pearl and rubbed it in my hand.
The texture is round and the pieces are large and plump.
Xiang snorted and shook her head: "The old lady is used to these tricks."
The Lu family and the Wen family were originally distant relatives from neighboring villages.
When the Wen family ancestor came to Shengjing to serve as an official, the two families lost contact.
Later, the Wen family fell on hard times and returned to their hometown to farm, while the Lu family accumulated wealth by going from street to street as merchants.
Reading is an expensive activity.
At that time, the Wen family had already fallen on hard times, and Old Master Wen was still a frail scholar.
—Someone who can't carry anything on their shoulders or lift anything with their hands.
Fortunately, Old Master Wen was quite handsome in his youth, and he passed the imperial examination at the age of thirteen or fourteen, making him a highly sought-after person in the countryside.
Old Mrs. Wen brought a generous dowry when she married into the Wen family.
Grandpa Wen continued his studies, while she stayed at home to manage the household chores and raise the children.
Old Madam Wen was a dignified and composed person who valued family honor above all else. Although she favored her own children, she never mistreated her second son, who was born out of wedlock.
The three gentlemen of the Wen family studied and practiced calligraphy together since they were young.
If it weren't for his father's later death and his brother's inability to support the family, which led to the Lu family's decline...
Xiang sighed.
When the Lu family fell into poverty, Old Master Wen immediately took advantage of his eldest son's marriage to curry favor with the Qi family. Such a scoundrel is truly a disgrace to the name of a scholar!
Xiang put the pearl back in its place and waved to Pang's mother.
"It's for Sister Yun."
"Take it to Liuxia Academy!"
It felt as if I had fallen into a long dream.
In her dream, Wen Lingzheng seemed to have returned to the Dingbei Marquis's Mansion and to the Lixin Courtyard.
She returned to the time when she was idly trimming the candlelight while he sat at the table reading policy essays.
So much so that when she woke up from her dream, she still felt a sense of loss.
The genius outside the window is just beginning to shine.
The wind chimes hanging under the eaves swayed gracefully, their tinkling sounds driving away her drowsiness.
She simply got up, sat down at the table, and began to carefully copy the calligraphy model stroke by stroke.
However, although she was practicing the elegant and graceful small regular script, her habits gradually led her to write in a different style.
He suddenly stopped.
Wen Lingzheng sighed deeply.
Her handwriting used to be so terrible that even Cangjie, the inventor of Chinese characters, would have been speechless upon seeing it.
But as the matriarch of the Marquis's household, she had to review accounts, attend banquets, and always had to write things down.
Her current handwriting was taught to her by Pei Lin.
Their handwriting is about 80% similar.
The remaining two points were due to her lack of writing skills.
Once she entered school, she had even more to write about.
In the past few days, she has managed to hide it by holding the pen with her left hand every day.
But she's not left-handed after all, and always using her left hand is ultimately inconvenient, but if she wanted to switch back to her right hand...
Wen Lingzheng sighed.
He laid out a new sheet of paper and began to practice calligraphy in the style of "Zan Hua Xiao Shu" (a type of traditional Chinese calligraphy).
When Yaoguang lifted the curtain to enter the room, he saw the girl quietly practicing calligraphy, and he wondered how long she had been practicing.
For several days in a row, the girl would leave for school at dawn and return with her calligraphy practice books, refusing to rest.
Even though the Empress Dowager was unwell recently and classes were suspended for two days because the Grand Princess Yongqing and Princess Mingzhu came to the palace to attend to her, she did not stop working and even lost weight.
Yao Guang felt sorry for the girl and wanted to tell her to rest, but she was stubborn and his persuasion was useless.
"girl."
"The old lady sent someone to call her."
"They said they invited Liu the tailor from the Liu family's brocade shop in the west of the city to make two outfits for the young master and young lady!"
Yuheng carried in a food box, the sound of which was as clear and crisp as pearls falling onto a jade plate.
The Wen family did not value legitimate or illegitimate children, and Old Madam Wen was even more so.
In Wen Lingzheng's memory, compared to the concepts of legitimate and illegitimate children, Old Madam Wen valued practical benefits more.
For example, Lu Xiaoniang's eldest daughter, Wen Lingsheng.
She was known for her talent and could bring benefits to her family. She was carefully cultivated by Old Madam Wen and later married the eldest son of the Earl of Funing as a concubine. Old Madam Wen did not hesitate to give her the shop that she had to rely on.
For example, Wen Lingzheng in her previous life was frail and sickly, had a difficult temper, and was not well-liked.
For a long time, Mrs. Wen was extremely annoyed with her.
A little girl who can't bring any benefit to the family is better off marrying far away when she grows up; she doesn't deserve to be valued.
If it weren't for that farce; if she hadn't married into the Dingbei Marquis's family; she probably wouldn't have been able to get even a fraction of her birth mother's dowry.
"I understand."
Wen Lingzheng put down her pen and paper and let Yaoguang do her hair.
Yao Guang let out a long sigh, which made Yu Heng laugh.
After having breakfast, Wen Lingzheng led Yaoguang toward Shou Kang Tang.
Shou Kang Hall is located to the east of the Wen family mansion, quite far from Tu Nan Courtyard.
Wen Lingzheng walked along the path, passing through the Jixue Pavilion where people could enjoy flowers and play, walking through three interconnected covered corridors, and then through a passageway before finally seeing the Shou Kang Hall.
"The Fourth Sister has arrived?"
"Fourth Miss, please come in!"
As soon as Wen Lingzheng arrived at the moon gate of Shou Kang Hall, Granny Ren, who had been waiting there since early morning, hurriedly came to greet her.
"The old lady is just feeling sorry for the fourth daughter!"
"The young lady fell ill a while ago, and the old lady was worried about her too."
"That's why the old lady instructed the kitchen to prepare easy-to-eat pastries for the young lady early this morning!"
Granny Ren was Old Madam Wen's confidante.
She was a trusted confidante who followed Old Madam Wen from the Lu family to the Wen family, and spent half her life going through ups and downs.
In the past, Granny Ren never gave her a second glance.
It seems like a trap? But the reason is unknown.
Could it be for Princess Mingzhu's birthday banquet?
Wen Lingzheng frowned almost imperceptibly.
Why would Old Madam Wen feel that there was something to be gained from her? Could it be related to her going to the Grand Princess's private school?
It seems it's not the Xiang family.
Wen Lingzheng made a decision.
She smiled and responded, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Thank you for your trouble, Granny."
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