Chapter 9 009 The Third Madam of the Xiao Family, Ten Taels of Silver a Month!
Xiao Rong and his wife, surnamed Deng, lived in the third courtyard of the Hou Mansion on the central road. The courtyard was named Wanhe Hall.
On the day the new bride entered the house, the couple got up early to wait for their third daughter-in-law's tea. The families of the heir apparent Xiao Hu and the second son Xiao Lin also arrived one after another.
Deng was a straightforward woman from the countryside. Before her husband, who had made meritorious contributions and been ennobled, took her and their two sons to the capital, she lived a carefree life in her hometown without her parents-in-law or sisters-in-law. She was the one who made the decisions at home, and she would curse and fight back against anyone, regardless of gender, who tried to bully her. She was known as one of the village's most notorious tigresses.
In her early twenties, she became the envy of everyone in the countryside as a Lady of the Marquis. She lived in a large mansion and had maids and servants to serve her. She only had to eat well, drink well, dress well, and sleep well. When she first arrived in the capital, Lady Deng was so happy that she would wake up laughing in the middle of the night. After several days of comfort, her husband reminded her that it was time to hold a banquet at home and invite his friends and colleagues in the officialdom to have a meal. It would also allow Lady Deng and her two children to officially show their faces in front of everyone.
Ms. Deng readily agreed.
As it turned out, the men she married invited high-ranking military officers from the capital. Among them were several dukes, marquises, and earls, and below them were third and fourth-rank guards and commanders. Most of the wives brought by these dukes and military officers were daughters of officials. The few village women who, like her, had risen to prominence later in life were also terrified by the etiquette of these noble ladies, preferring to say and do less rather than make a mistake.
This time it was alright, the Xiao family was the host, and the female guests treated her very politely and did not show any malice. But when Deng went to visit other mansions because of her husband's favor, even if the host was friendly, the other female guests were a mixed bag. Some of the maids who looked down on people even dared to openly despise her!
Deng dared to act like a shrew in the village because, apart from the village headman who held some status, everyone else was a commoner, and no one had the power to bully others. The capital was different. Her deceased husband associated with powerful and influential officials. If Deng really threw a tantrum, firstly, offending these powerful figures might jeopardize her husband's future; secondly, her vain husband might feel ashamed of her and would either divorce her or take a concubine. Did Deng dare to gamble that?
Not wanting to humble herself by flattering others, nor wanting to embarrass herself in public, Deng declined the invitations of a group of noblewomen under the pretext of feeling unwell. She only associated with a few wives of officials from similar backgrounds who she could get along with. Over time, the noblewomen all understood her intentions and stopped sending her individual invitations.
But Madam Deng never expected that while she was hiding from the noble ladies of the capital, Emperor Yongcheng, for some inexplicable reason, would actually betroth the daughter of the Left Prime Minister to his eldest son! The Left Prime Minister's family, the Yang family, wielded more power than dukes and marquises, and were also a family of scholars, said to have all kinds of etiquette and manners ingrained in their very bones. Her eldest son dared to marry the legitimate daughter of the Yang family, but she herself would not dare to accept such a daughter-in-law!
However, this was a marriage bestowed by the emperor, and Deng had no choice but to accept it. As she expected, her eldest daughter-in-law, Yang Yanzhen, was indeed not her kind of person. She never smiled and never showed her knees, making Deng feel uncomfortable sitting with her. So she simply let her eldest daughter-in-law manage the household. She no longer needed her eldest daughter-in-law to perform the morning and evening greetings. The young couple ate in a separate courtyard, while she continued to be a rough and unrefined person with her dead husband.
Having learned her lesson from her eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Deng began looking for a second daughter-in-law who suited her taste. However, her second son was only interested in marrying into a higher social class, and he refused to even meet the woman she chose, directly rejecting her advances. Enraged, Madam Deng declared she would no longer interfere and told her son to find a wife himself. This was merely a mother's threat, yet her second son actually married into the Li family of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, telling her to simply send a matchmaker to propose marriage.
When Li Huaiyun, the second son's wife, entered the house, it was the first time Deng Shi had seen her face. After figuring out her personality, Deng Shi finally understood why her second son had succeeded. Her second daughter-in-law was a pitiful little thing; her mother died before she could even speak, and her stepmother ruled the household. Despite her noble status, she was withdrawn and taciturn. Her appearance could only be described as fair and pretty. She had lacked love since childhood, and with her second son's deliberate attempts to ingratiate himself, how could she resist?
Not long after their marriage, the second son, with the help of his grandfather-in-law, Duke Dingguo Li Gong, entered the Imperial Guard and began to live off his wife. Meanwhile, the second daughter-in-law spent her days reading and gardening in the young couple's courtyard. Only after having children did she start taking them for walks in the back garden. When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law occasionally bumped into each other, one was not good at speaking politely and the other did not like to speak, which made things very awkward. Therefore, Deng Shi did not like to chat with her second daughter-in-law.
Therefore, not counting the time spent preparing for the wedding, the last time the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and mother-in-law had a meal together was in early September when they celebrated the Double Ninth Festival.
Upon hearing the maid's announcement, Madam Deng quickly lowered the leg that had been raised and sat up straight.
Xiao Rong, who had long since changed his rough ways, sat down beside her looking quite respectable. Seeing his wife's actions, he laughed at her, saying, "In other families, it's the daughter-in-law who's afraid of her mother-in-law, but here it's the other way around."
Deng muttered a curse at him: "Who's afraid of them? I'm doing this for the good of my eldest and second sons, so they won't be constantly criticized by their wives for their mother's vulgarity."
Since there weren't many opportunities to eat together, Deng was willing to put on a show for the sake of harmony between the two families.
Xiao Rong smiled. It was true that he was vain, but he loved his first wife who hadn't looked down on him for his poverty and hardship. The noble ladies in the capital looked down on him for being vulgar, and Xiao Rong was too lazy to humiliate himself into being a refined person for a long time just to please them.
"Father, Mother."
Yang Yanzhen and Li Huaiyun led the children forward and respectfully bowed to their parents-in-law. Their husband, Xiao Hu, who had injured his right leg, was sitting in a wheelchair. Xiao Lin smiled and pushed his elder brother to the lower left of their father. The servants who accompanied them stayed outside.
Madam Deng lovingly told her daughters-in-law and grandchildren to dispense with the formalities.
Just as Yang Yanzhen was about to lead his eldest son and third son to stand next to Xiao Hu, six-year-old eldest son ran up to his grandmother and asked with a chubby face, "Grandma, I got up early and arrived, but Uncle and Aunt haven't come yet?"
Mrs. Deng patted her grandson's head and said with a smile, "It'll be soon, it should be on its way. Is Dalang hungry? Have a piece of jujube cake to fill your stomach first."
The red dates harvested this autumn are made into date cakes that are both fragrant and sweet.
Thinking of his younger siblings, the eldest brother took his grandmother's plate, which contained exactly four pieces, enough for each of the four siblings.
Xiao Hu was pleased that his son was a good older brother when he suddenly thought of something and secretly glanced to the side. Sure enough, he caught his wife Yang Yanzhen's brows furrowing slightly and then quickly relaxing, which was displeased with her son's behavior of carrying the plate around.
Xiao Hu was used to it. When he was a child, as soon as his mother lifted the lid of the steamer, he could grab a bun and stuff it into his mouth. Compared to him, Da Lang was already very particular.
However, Xiao Hu never argued with his wife over such trivial matters. His wife was definitely better at raising children than he was at it. If she could truly raise the children to be as refined as the descendants of the Yang family, that would be a blessing for the Xiao family.
After the children shared the cake, Dalang and Sanlang ate in much the same way as Xiao Hu, taking a big bite out of more than half of it and stuffing it all into their mouths in two bites, their cheeks bulging out a little lump.
Xiao Lin looked at his two nephews, then at his own son Erlang's well-mannered and refined eating manners, and at his two-year-old daughter waiting for her mother to break off small pieces of jujube cake and chew them slowly. He was very satisfied. He was more refined than his eldest brother, and his two children were more like true sons of a marquis's family.
After the children finished eating the cakes and wiped their hands, a maid came to announce that the Third Young Master and the Third Madam had arrived.
Now, regardless of who their biological father was, the three boys lowered their heads to check their cuffs and lapels, worried that there might be crumbs of jujube cake stuck in them. If their third uncle saw them, they would be disliked. Although their third uncle wouldn't say it directly, the way he gestured for them to clean up the dirt made it seem as if he treated them like three piglets.
Two-year-old Yingjie looked at her three older brothers curiously, when suddenly her mother turned her around and looked her up and down.
Li Huaiyun was not proud of her noble birth, but she also couldn't let her brother-in-law suspect that she was a slovenly sister-in-law who couldn't dress her daughter properly.
From her seat at the head of the table, Deng saw everything clearly. She silently scolded her third son again, saying that his obsession with cleanliness and tidiness was almost a disease. She was glad he wasn't born in a village, otherwise he would be disgusted to death by the donkey and dog dung that was often seen by the roadside.
Soon, Xiao Yu, who wasn't exactly anticipated by the family, appeared first outside the main hall, followed by the beautiful bride in a red dress.
The adults were immediately struck by the sight, and the three little boys exclaimed "Wow!" in unison. Even the youngest, Yingjie, followed suit and made a "Wow!"
Luo Fu was amused by the four children. She had two nephews and nieces of similar age, and she felt a sense of closeness and affection towards the four handsome young members of the Xiao family.
Smiling, her face flushed, she shyly followed Xiao Yu into the main room.
As soon as the newlyweds arrived, the tea ceremony began. Luo Fu knelt on the prayer mat and first served tea to her parents-in-law.
Xiao Rong was grateful that Luo Dayuan was willing to remarry him to make amends for his mistake, and he felt a special affection for Luo Fu, like that of a caring friend's daughter, and smiled very kindly. Madam Deng, on the other hand, was convinced that Luo Fu would be the only daughter-in-law in the family who could keep her company, and treated Luo Fu like her own daughter. She happily gave Luo Fu a white jade bracelet, saying, "When your eldest brother and sister-in-law got engaged, I ordered three white jade bracelets at once, saving them for my three future daughters-in-law. Today, I've finally given them all away."
The eldest daughter-in-law came from a very high social class, which immediately raised the bar for the gifts she was given. The three bracelets cost 1,500 taels of silver, and she was so distressed that she couldn't sleep for several nights.
Luckily, Luo Fu didn't know the price of the bracelet, otherwise she probably wouldn't have been able to suppress her smile.
After paying respects to the elders, the next step was to serve tea to the two pairs of brothers and sisters-in-law.
Xiao Rong and his wife did not tell the other two young couples about their arranged marriage with the Luo family, so as not to embarrass the eldest couple in front of the third couple. Deng Shi had also told the Luo family about this, and Luo Fu understood. It was Marquis Xiao Rong who broke his promise. Xiao Hu and his wife owed the Luo family nothing. In fact, Luo Fu did not even resent Xiao Rong, because without Xiao Rong's breach of contract, she would not have been able to marry into a high-ranking family today.
At this moment, Luo Fu focused her attention on her two sisters-in-law. Her eldest sister-in-law was beautiful and dignified, clearly a lady from a high-ranking family, with a distant air about her. Her second sister-in-law surprised her even more, because the Duke of Dingguo's mansion was the most prestigious ducal family in the capital, yet her second sister-in-law had a faint air of humility, and would quickly look away after making eye contact with her.
The children were much more relaxed. When Luo Fu presented her gift to Da Lang, he praised her for being very beautiful. San Lang and Er Lang followed suit and praised her as well. Er Lang even changed his words and praised his aunt as being like the fairy Chang'e on a lantern.
When it was the turn of two-year-old Yingjie, who was being held in Li Huaiyun's arms, the little girl imitated her aunt and praised her, then turned to hug her mother and praised her as well: "Mom is like a fairy."
Li Huaiyun blushed, glanced at Xiao Lin out of the corner of her eye, and became embarrassed again, an embarrassment that was obvious to everyone.
Xiao Lin took his daughter and jokingly asked, "Mother is like a fairy, what is Father like?"
Yingjie was still seriously thinking of her words when Dalang said with a grin, "Second Uncle sounds like a scoundrel who tricks children into selling them for money!"
Sanlang laughed loudly, and then the two brothers were scolded by Yang Yanzhen and told to apologize to their second uncle.
After this interruption, Li Huaiyun's expression returned to normal, and Madam Deng hurriedly called the maids to prepare a meal.
During the meal, Xiao Rong and his wife sat at one table, while the three couples sat at their own tables. The four children sat in pairs, and the entire meal was silent except for the soft sounds of chewing.
Luo Fu wasn't used to this high-class rule of not speaking while eating; she preferred the lively atmosphere of the family eating and chatting together.
After the meal, Xiao Rong and his son talked in the main hall, while Deng led her three daughters-in-law to the side room, where she acted as a go-between to introduce the three sisters-in-law to each other.
As the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward, Deng told her eldest and second sons' families to go home first, leaving only the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the side room. Deng immediately took Luo Fu's hand and began to complain: "To be honest, neither of your sisters-in-law are arrogant, but they just don't like to talk. I've racked my brains but I still can't get close to them. Now that you've seen them, you can understand my predicament, right?"
Luo Fu smiled and said, "Your daughter-in-law understands. If you want your daughter-in-law to speak, this is good too. Less talk means less trouble. Let me guess, Mother has never quarreled with my eldest and second sisters-in-law, right?"
Mrs. Deng laughed so hard she spat out a few drops of saliva: "That's right, there's no more peaceful sister-in-law relationship than ours."
After speaking to her two daughters-in-law who had just left, Madam Deng began to inquire about her third daughter-in-law's wedding night with her third son, lowering her voice to ask, "How was it? Did your third son treat you badly?"
Luo Fu immediately lost her previous ease, blushing and shaking her head.
Deng was a little hesitant to believe it, but then she thought that on their wedding night, men would be focused on one thing, and the third son would be at the mercy of that two ounces of flesh, so he probably wouldn't have time to gossip.
She patted her daughter-in-law's hand and sighed, "The third son is good in every way, but sometimes he speaks too bluntly. The more particular he is, the less he can tolerate others not being particular. His particularity is not only about his appearance, but also about benevolence, righteousness, propriety and trustworthiness. He has offended many people because of his words. We parents are often annoyed by him. You will have to bear with him a lot in the future."
Luo Fu recalled Xiao Yu's comments about her family when she arrived; they were indeed quite straightforward, yet they all seemed to be the truth.
But compared to a husband who favors his blood relatives and cannot tolerate his wife finding fault with her family, is an upright and fair husband like Xiao Yu more reliable? Because as long as she behaves honestly and uprightly, Xiao Yu will not find fault with her and will continue to be a loving husband and wife.
Furthermore, the mother-in-law probably exaggerated on purpose, just like how the mother often talked about her sister's shortcomings in front of her brother-in-law, such as laziness and bad temper, as if she had already criticized her sister in advance, so her brother-in-law should accommodate and tolerate her sister and not be allowed to point out her shortcomings.
Therefore, Luo Fu said without much concern, "Mother, you are too kind. Actually, I just like the integrity and propriety of scholars. No matter who he offends in the future, as long as he is right, I will support him."
Deng: "..."
What a good daughter-in-law, just as upright as she was when she was in the village!
Fearing that she might frighten her newlywed daughter-in-law, Deng thoughtfully refrained from mentioning that her third son most often offended the sons of powerful and wealthy families, and that he seemed to be on the verge of offending them as well.
After chatting for a while, Madam Deng took out a bright red purse containing ten taels of silver and handed it to Luo Fu, saying, "Your father-in-law's marquisate came halfway through his life, and our family's wealth cannot compare with those prestigious families that have been around for generations, so our monthly allowance is also lower. The three brothers, including the third son, and you three sisters-in-law each receive ten taels of silver per month, which is usually paid on the first day of the month. This is your allowance for this month, and your eldest sister-in-law will send someone to distribute it next month."
Luo Fu's heart started racing again. Her family's land in Huangqiao Village only yielded a dozen or so taels of silver a year, but she could earn ten taels every month just by becoming a daughter-in-law to the Xiao family!
Madam Deng noticed her younger daughter-in-law's joy, which made her feel comfortable giving the money. She knew that if it weren't for her eldest daughter-in-law's high social standing, she wouldn't have been willing to give her son and daughter-in-law so much; five taels per person per month would have been the maximum.
"Alright, there's nothing else at home. You and your third brother should go back and rest. You've been busy all day yesterday, you must still be exhausted," Deng said with a smile, giving him a meaningful wink. Despite being a scholar, her third brother had honed his martial arts skills to avoid getting beaten up easily if he offended someone. Since he was fifteen, her eldest and second brothers could no longer single-handedly beat him up.
Luo Fu: "..."
A note from the author:
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Xiao Da and Xiao Er: Our younger brother's "superior" martial arts skills are inseparable from our encouragement [doge emoji]
Haha, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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