Of the three brothers in Yu Ru's family, only the fourth brother is married so far, and he seems to be a loving husband. However, he is still not settled down and only thinks about love and romance. He has never cared about the family's shops or anything like that, so he is not a good match at all.
The eldest son got divorced. The reason for the divorce was something that the prominent families in the county knew very well. He only had a son and a daughter, and the children were still young. He was only focused on making a name for himself and seemed unreliable. If he were one of those families that only wanted to marry into wealth, the eldest son might be a good match.
The third son, on the other hand, is completely devoted to the family business. I heard that he's responsible for everything, both inside and outside the home, and every shop is doing very well! If things continue like this, the third son might really become the pillar of the family in the future, making all the decisions. If he could become someone's son-in-law, that family would be laughing in their sleep!
As for education, although it was the third son's weakness, it was precisely this opportunity for collateral branches of the family like theirs. Otherwise, with their mother's status as a ninth-rank imperial concubine, it wouldn't be impossible for her to marry a daughter of an official. There would be no chance for families like theirs.
This time, the families from the county town all tacitly understood each other's purposes for coming, yet each managed to remain calm. After all, it was still unclear what the Emperor had bestowed upon Lady Yu. If it was merely gold and silver jewels, then their visit was simply to admire the plum blossoms. But if Lady Yu had been further honored…
Then, you can rely on your own abilities!
The problem is that they received the news too late. Some of their daughters were too young, and some were reluctant to marry their daughters into farming families. So they had to come early and wait for their families to arrange for suitable girls to come.
Therefore, everyone is currently getting along relatively peacefully. In a large family, there is no chance of a complete falling out. Even if you hate someone to death, you have to put on a gentle and warm smile when you meet them, otherwise it would be considered improper and unbecoming of your status.
Yue Jiuyue was unaware of the undercurrents among those ladies and young women, and even less aware that their purpose in coming here was impure. In fact, even if she knew, she wouldn't have made any move. In her mind, these people were just here to give her money. If, by some chance, her cheap third son took a liking to any of their daughters, that would be a good thing, saving her from worrying all the time that Lin Chaonan didn't understand romance and might remain a bachelor for life.
Outsiders have no idea why their son is still single. No one will think it's because Lin Chaonan doesn't want to get married. They'll just think it's because his mother is unkind for not helping him find a wife. They might even think she's doing it on purpose. Who knows how much gossip will smear her?
Yue Jiuyue was indeed quite bored, so she would take some time each day to listen to the gossip her maids told her about people: which family's young lady was the most beautiful, which family's lady was the most gentle, which family's old woman was the most shrewish, and which family's young master was the most playful...
The more I listened, the more engrossed I became. Her once neat front teeth developed two gaps from cracking sunflower seeds while listening to gossip. Luckily, she was quite old, and that was the only way she could console herself.
"Madam Lin? You're getting your teeth checked again? I didn't expect you to be so concerned about your appearance at your age."
The woman who came was a steward from one of the households. She would come every day to bring Yue Jiuyue some freshly made pastries and chat with the maids and servants in the courtyard. The gossip that the maids in Yue Jiuyue's courtyard knew all came from these maids and servants. Otherwise, how would a little girl like her know what was happening in other people's courtyards?
Of course, those people also knew about Yue Jiuyue's situation. For example, she suddenly discovered that she had two gaps in her teeth, which made her regret it immensely, but unfortunately, she was unrepentant.
Can she really give up eating sunflower seeds? Wouldn't that reduce her excitement for gossip by more than half?
This is because Yue Jiuyue is used to not being able to keep secrets at home in the village; otherwise, this little girl would definitely have her pay docked.
Fortunately, Yue Jiuyue was not only a hands-off manager, but also a kind old woman. She wouldn't make a big deal out of things with her servants. As long as they did their jobs well, these trivial matters in life were fine to talk about.
"Sigh! I'm just an old woman now, why would I care about my appearance? I'm just worried that as I get older, my teeth won't be as good, and I won't be able to eat good food anymore. Life has just gotten better, and if I can't eat good food now, what a loss that would be!"
That's half true and half false, isn't it? It's true that she's worried about not being able to eat good food, but it's false that she doesn't care about her appearance. As a person, how could she not care about her appearance? Who would want to be dirty and slovenly if they could be pretty, clean, and presentable?
"Oh dear! Madam Lin, you've really hit the nail on the head! Look at my teeth! I'm a few years younger than you, and I already have several rotten teeth! The doctor says it's all from eating too many sweets, like pastries and candies. He's telling me to eat less of them now, and if I eat even a little bit more, the maids will complain to our mistress! If I had known that eating too many sweets would ruin my teeth, I wouldn't have been so greedy when I was younger. Sigh!"
As the old woman spoke, she even asked Yue Jiuyue to come closer to take a look. Her tone was so smug, showing no sign of discomfort whatsoever, that Yue Jiuyue wanted to roll her eyes.
Speaking of sweets, Yue Jiuyue really thought of a dessert she never tired of eating—wife cake!
She had the good fortune to try a certain Xiang's red bean paste wife cake, and at that time she felt that she could eat this kind of dessert for the rest of her life without getting tired of it.
Of course, that's impossible. If you eat it every day, you'll never get tired of it. Even staple foods need to be changed occasionally. Who can eat rice/steamed buns three times a day for a hundred years without changing them?
"hehe."
Yue Jiuyue responded awkwardly but politely, listening to the other person's boasting while inwardly criticizing the exaggeration. After listening patiently for a while, she politely asked the person to leave, citing reasons such as being tired or exhausted.
There's nothing she can do. Even though she's now a ninth-rank Confucian scholar, a seventh-rank official is still more powerful than a mere gatekeeper. What kind of nobody is she?
So, would she dare to disrespect the woman in charge?
Even emperors have their helpless moments, so there are countless helpless situations for an old woman from the countryside like her. If she wants to live a comfortable life, it will probably only be after she kicks the bucket.
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