Chapter 14 014 Was it just too much of a coincidence, or was Xiao Yu wronged...?
Left Chancellor Yang Sheng rarely discussed state affairs with his wife, and Xu Shi did not inquire about them either. Because Yang Sheng left early and returned late every day, and after returning home he would spend some time having private conversations with his two sons who were also in office in the study, the couple could only talk before going to bed.
An old married couple no longer talks about love and jealousy; they mostly chat about trivial daily matters, such as their grandchildren being naughty, their daughters-in-law having a quarrel, or their sons having shortcomings as officials. They casually mention whatever comes to mind.
Madam Xu: "Xiao Yu's wife is surprisingly likable. She is frank, sweet-talking, and seems to be getting close to Yan Zhen as well."
The Xiao family is small, with three women—mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and mother-in-law—each with their own temperament. They usually get along well without interfering with each other. However, the daughter and son-in-law also maintain a polite distance and find it difficult to open up to each other. Xu Shi has always felt sorry that her daughter's life after marriage is too lonely. Now that she has a cheerful and talkative sister-in-law, she expects her life to be more enjoyable.
Men, busy with official duties during the day, cannot understand the loneliness of women in the inner quarters. Before marriage, they rely on their mothers and sisters for companionship. After marriage, whether they live a warm or cold life depends half on their husbands and children, and half on their mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. Although they are not blood relatives, they have to live under the same roof and deal with each other for most of their lives.
No matter how pleasing Luo Fu's personality was, if she weren't her daughter's sister-in-law, Madam Xu wouldn't have given her a pigeon blood gemstone ring.
Yang Sheng only noticed one word: "Frankness? How so?"
Xiao Yu was very honest, but no one liked his honesty.
Madam Xu smiled and said, "It's not like Xiao Yu, but someone who openly admits to their humble origins and lack of knowledge, neither humble nor arrogant."
Yang Sheng: "That's alright. Xiao Yu is just too arrogant. He acts like he's the only sensible person in the world. He only cares about right and wrong and ignores everything else. Humph, unless he changes his bad habits, no matter how good a girl is, she'll have to live in fear and anxiety after marrying him."
Xu: "...You've already suffered once, you should have improved by now?"
Blocking a scholar's path to the imperial examinations is like crippling a military officer's leg. If Xiao Yu wants to become an official, he has to align himself with the current prime minister.
As a relative by marriage to the Xiao family, Madam Xu felt that her husband, the prime minister, should not use his position for personal gain to cut off the career path of a younger relative by marriage. However, as Yang Sheng's wife and the matriarch of the Yang family, Madam Xu supported her husband in using every means to protect his reputation, status, and power. Therefore, Xiao Yu had to bow down first in this matter.
When her husband was young, he had already served the emperor, the country, and the people. Now that her husband is old, Xu would rather he be a little confused than have him suffer for the sake of a name of loyalty and righteousness, and bring disaster upon the whole family.
Yang Sheng thought of how Xiao Yu had dared to embarrass him on his wedding night, and snorted again: "Go to sleep, and don't mention him to me again."
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The next morning, Xiao Yu was reading in his study for a while when he heard a noise in the courtyard. It must have been his wife going out.
After marriage, his wife often visited his mother, and Xiao Yu didn't think much of it.
Tired from reading, Xiao Yu went to the courtyard to stretch his limbs and casually asked Chao Sheng, "Has Madam returned?"
Chao Sheng: "Not yet, does the young master have business with the madam?"
Xiao Yu shook his head. Just before lunchtime, seeing his wife finally return, Xiao Yu asked curiously, "Were you at Wanhetang all morning?"
Luo Fu: "No, I spent some time with my mother and then went to my sister-in-law's. Seeing my sincerity in seeking knowledge, my sister-in-law agreed to help introduce me to a female teacher who would teach me some common sense that a young lady from a prominent family should know."
Reading doesn't require instruction. Xiao Yu has a library full of books that Luo Fu can borrow anytime. What she wants to learn is aristocratic etiquette and the appreciation of valuable items. She doesn't want to show off, but rather to recognize their worth.
This is crucial for her to integrate into the circle of wealthy women in the capital. Once she recognizes their value, she can promptly offer compliments when she encounters a wealthy woman she needs to befriend wearing rare gemstones or precious furs and silks. Otherwise, if she doesn't react at all when the woman deliberately wears such clothes to show off, the woman's good mood will be ruined.
Including social interactions and gift exchanges, she had to first determine the value of the gifts others gave her in order to understand their intentions—whether they were trying to get her to do something for them or were trying to fool her with cheap things out of malice.
The female teacher only gave her one and a half hours of lessons each morning, paying her five taels of silver per month, until she felt she had learned to her satisfaction.
Yang Yanzhen originally intended for her to teach him personally, but she had to manage the household and take care of the children. Luo Fu didn't want to take up too much of her sister-in-law's time. Teaching people could easily damage relationships if one was impatient. It was simpler and less troublesome to pay for the knowledge.
"I learn things very quickly, I can learn it in six months at most." Fearing that Xiao Yu would mind the tuition fee, Luo Fu assured him softly, "I won't use your private savings."
Xiao Yu: "...I gave it to you so you could spend it. I still have several dozen taels here, plus my monthly allowance, which is enough for my own use."
He doesn't have many places where he needs to spend money, so he'll save it up slowly and give it to her when it reaches a round number.
Luo Fu hugged him happily: "My husband is so generous. I was just being petty and judging you by my own standards."
Xiao Yu noticed that his wife was increasingly fond of throwing herself into his arms, and her smile was so beautiful that he couldn't bear to refuse her.
And so, Luo Fu gained a female tutor. Every morning after breakfast, she would first visit her mother-in-law and sister-in-law's courtyards for a short while to build rapport, and then rush back to Shensi Hall to wait before the tutor arrived. After the tutor left, Luo Fu would have lunch with Xiao Yu. In the afternoon, Luo Fu would either stroll in the garden and play with her three nephews, or meet up with her sister Luo Lan to explore several neighborhoods in the capital. When the weather was nice, she would ask Xiao Yu to accompany her on a trip outside the city.
Before they knew it, it was the end of October. After three months of recuperation, Prince Xiao Hu was finally allowed by the doctor to try walking around.
All the members of the Xiao family came to Jishantang, anxiously awaiting the result.
In the courtyard, Xiao Hu stood up, holding onto the armrests of his wheelchair. At this moment, he couldn't tell whether he was using more force with his arms or legs. After stepping off the wheelchair, he tentatively took a few steps on the bluestone slabs. His right ankle felt fine, and Xiao Hu excitedly quickened his pace. After trying to walk, he tried kicking his leg a few more times...
A 28-year-old man kicked around as if no one else was around, with a silly grin on his face as he did so.
Perhaps he wasn't her own brother. Luo Fu thought Xiao Hu was a bit silly. She secretly looked at Yang Yanzhen and found that Yang Yanzhen had his eyes downcast. The eldest son, the third son, and his parents-in-law were all smiling. When she looked at Xiao Yu, he was already frowning and said in a disdainful tone, "Big brother, your foot injury has just healed. You should restrain yourself."
Concerned about her son, Deng tried to dissuade him, and Xiao Rong went over and pinned the eldest son down.
Xiao Hu had had enough fun and was eager to ask the doctor, "Am I fully recovered? Can I go back to work now?"
He had rendered meritorious service in suppressing bandits, but due to concerns about his leg injury, the court only gave him a reward beforehand. Now that it has been confirmed that his leg is not crippled, the court should promote him.
Before the marriage, Xiao Hu was favored by Emperor Yongcheng because of his strong physique, martial arts skills and the convenience of his father's marquis status. He was selected to join the Imperial Guard as an ordinary guard. After the marriage, his father-in-law said that he could help him get promoted and asked him if he wanted to be a centurion or a chiliarch. Xiao Hu did not care whether his father-in-law was testing his character and refused outright, saying that he would get promoted by his own military merits.
My father-in-law just smiled.
Several years have passed. Before the bandit suppression, Xiao Hu was already a commander of a thousand men in the East Guard of the Upper Four Guards of the Imperial Guards. After the bandit suppression, there was no vacancy in the command of the Upper Four Guards. There must be one in the three major Beijing garrisons outside the city. As long as he enters the Beijing garrison, he will have the opportunity to go out of the city with the army when the emperor launches the Northern Expedition against the remnants of Yin, and fight and make merits on the real battlefield just like his father did when he was young.
The physician said, "Today's visit was only to confirm that the prince's ankle was not injured. Although he has recovered, he should not walk for long periods of time. To be on the safe side, the prince needs to rest for another month."
Xiao Hu's joy instantly turned into disappointment.
Xiao Rong was already quite satisfied. He gestured for the steward to take the physician down to receive the reward, patted his eldest son on the shoulder, and said, "Rest assured, I will report this matter to the Ministry of War. The rest is up to them."
As he spoke, Xiao Rong's gaze subtly swept over his eldest daughter-in-law, but they didn't meet. Then, his eyes swept over his youngest daughter-in-law, revealing a smile of contentment that only his wife and his third son and his wife understood.
Luo Fu also breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks to her help in settling a "retribution" for Xiao Rong, her father-in-law could at least stop criticizing her background.
Two days later, based on Xiao Hu's merits in suppressing bandits, the Ministry of War proposed to promote him to fill a vacancy as a commander in the Western Camp, with the official rank of fourth grade.
Left Chancellor Yang Sheng delivered a batch of memorials to the Imperial Study, which Emperor Yongcheng reviewed one by one. When he saw the memorial from the Ministry of War promoting Xiao Hu, Emperor Yongcheng praised Yang Sheng, saying, "Xiao Rong is only average in both courage and strategy, but his three sons are all outstanding. Xiao Hu is brave, Xiao Lin is resourceful, and Xiao Yu is like a reincarnation of the God of Literature, who became the top scholar at the age of nineteen."
Yang Sheng laughed and said, "It is all thanks to the Emperor that the Xiao family has such good fortune today."
Emperor Yongcheng said no more, and with a stroke of his vermilion brush, approved it.
Xiao Hu was certainly not a match for the daughter of the noble Yang family, but Xiao Rong was one of the three thousand soldiers who had fought to the death for him. Emperor Yongcheng had promised to bestow upon him a title of nobility. But that wasn't all; he also wanted to use Xiao Rong to let all the soldiers in the world know that even if they were of humble origin, lacked martial arts skills, or were not good at strategy, the emperor could still grant them generations of wealth and honor based on their loyalty to the emperor.
As soon as the transfer document was issued, all the heads of the Xiao family knew the good news.
At night, Luo Fu nestled in Xiao Yu's arms and asked him curiously, "How much is the salary of a fourth-rank official?"
Xiao Yu: "The combined salary of rice and silver is about twenty-two taels per month."
Luo Fu: "Then should the salaries of the eldest and second eldest brothers be turned over to the public treasury?"
As couples spend more time together, they become more likely to inquire about matters related to money.
Xiao Yu: "Before my eldest brother got married, my mother made him give half of his share to the family. After he got married, she made him keep half of his share, including my second brother's share."
Luo Fu understood that her two sisters-in-law came from noble families, and her mother-in-law was afraid that the ten taels of monthly salary would be unfair to the two sisters-in-law, so she simply let her son use his salary to subsidize his daughter-in-law.
Therefore, Luo Fu had to admit that she was lucky, having benefited from the influence of her two sisters-in-law, and that she would eventually be able to receive Xiao Yu's salary.
"So our monthly income depends entirely on Father's salary?" Luo Fu asked in surprise, her eyes, illuminated by the soft lamplight, still showing admiration for her father-in-law's ability to earn so much money.
Xiao Yu smiled and said, "He is also a fourth-rank commander. His salary is the same as my elder brother's. The public funds are saved from my father's marquisate salary, which is six hundred taels a year. In addition, there are thirty acres of land he received when he was enfeoffed as a marquis. Excluding years of disaster, the annual income is about three thousand taels."
The capital's army was mainly divided into the Imperial Guard and the three major Beijing Garrison. The three major Beijing Garrison had a total of 250,000 troops, responsible for guarding the capital and going on expeditions in times of war. The Imperial Guard was divided into the Upper Four Guards, which guarded the Imperial City, and the Lower Nine Guards, which guarded the capital. My father, Xiao Rong, was promoted to commander of one of the Lower Nine Guards because of his merits and loyalty in the battle that led to his ennoblement. More than 20 years have passed, and my father has not been promoted once since.
Luo Fu didn't look down on her father-in-law's mediocre talent at all. After hearing that the Xiao family could earn three thousand taels a year from their land, Luo Fu thought even more highly of her father-in-law: "Being lucky and having a good life is also a skill. Without the bloody path that Father fought his way out back then, how could we have such a good life now?"
Xiao Yu admitted that he was willing to be filial to his father, but his father did not like to listen to his advice, which led to the father and son having fewer and fewer heart-to-heart talks.
Luo Fu's thoughts had already shifted to what rank Xiao Yu would be granted if he passed the imperial examination, but she couldn't say that yet, as it would put pressure on her husband who was waiting to take the exam.
.
On the sixth day of the eleventh month, another in-law family of the Marquis's family, the Duke of Dingguo's family, also sent an invitation, inviting the four women, including the Deng family, to go to see a play.
The Duchess was over sixty years old. She didn't usually care about the household or the power struggles between her children and grandchildren. She just loved listening to operas, and the mansion even had a troupe of opera performers for her amusement.
Yang Yanzhen returned to her maternal home with full confidence and dared to take on the task of looking after her third brother and sister-in-law. Li Huaiyun, however, did not have the same confidence and was even worried that her mother-in-law and brother and sister-in-law would be implicated and neglected by her stepmother. As for her eldest sister-in-law, it was fine because her stepmother would not dare to openly offend the prime minister's daughter.
Since she wasn't familiar with Li Huaiyun yet, Luo Fu inquired about the Duke of Dingguo's mansion from her sister-in-law beforehand. She learned that the Duke, Li Gong, had four sons and one daughter. All four sons were as capable as him in battle, making the family the most prestigious noble family in the dynasty. Her daughter had even married into the royal family and become the Crown Princess.
Li Huaiyun was the eldest daughter of the first wife. Her stepmother, Chen, gave birth to two younger brothers and a younger sister for her.
In addition, Li Huaiyun's three uncles gave her more than a dozen cousins of varying ages.
With more children, they become less valuable to their grandparents. Sometimes, even if they want to manage them, they are powerless to do so. Who wouldn't find it annoying to have a dozen or so noisy children? Moreover, if they try to manage them, any slight unfairness will be met with complaints from the children's parents. Therefore, the Duchess can only keep an eye on her stepdaughter-in-law to make sure she doesn't mistreat Li Huaiyun too much; she can't guarantee any real care or concern.
Let alone Li Huaiyun's inner turmoil, Luo Fu's head was already spinning just thinking about all the children of the fourth branch of the Li family. If it weren't for the fact that the Li family had a Crown Princess, she really wouldn't want to waste her energy remembering them. After all, Li Huaiyun wasn't close to her maternal family, and the marriage alliance with the Marquis's mansion was even more distant.
On the carriage, Madam Deng was too lazy to mention the Li family. She instructed her daughter-in-law, "Judging from your second sister-in-law's pitiful appearance, you can tell that her stepmother and three aunts don't treat her well. They say that love extends to everything connected to the family, and the reverse is also true. They don't care about your second sister-in-law, so it's no use flattering her. At most, you can flatter the old lady, and just maintain a superficial relationship with the others."
Rosé nodded knowingly.
Upon arriving at the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, we naturally exchanged pleasantries and introduced ourselves before moving to the theater in the middle of the mansion's garden.
Today's performance was to entertain the new daughter-in-law of the Marquis's family, so the Duchess called Luo Fu and Li Huaiyun to her side and had the two sisters-in-law sit on either side of her. Deng was entertained by several ladies of the Li family of the same generation as her. As for Li Huaiyun's younger brothers and sisters, the oldest was only twenty years old and had not yet married.
Li Huaiyun was not good at pleasing her grandmother, and she was even less accustomed to vying for her grandmother's favor under the noses of her younger sisters. She quietly played the role of a submissive quail. Luo Fu, on the other hand, watched and listened attentively to the opera, which pleased the Duchess, who loved opera. After the opera was over, Luo Fu would ask the Duchess questions about things she didn't understand.
The Duchess loved to listen and talk. Just as she started to feel her mouth getting dry from talking, Luo Fu handed her some tea.
The Duchess smiled and said, "You are quite clever."
She didn't look at her granddaughter beside her, but she felt regretful. If her eldest granddaughter were a little smarter and would often run to her side, she would have an excuse to favor her more. Otherwise, if her stepdaughter-in-law didn't obviously mistreat her eldest granddaughter, her eagerness to take care of her eldest granddaughter would only create a rift between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Luo Fu: "It's because you're willing to give me this opportunity. Otherwise, with so many clever and adorable granddaughters under your wing, how would I have the chance to fawn over you?"
The Duchess deliberately said, "Given the same opportunity, Huaiyun is not as clever as you."
She wanted to see how adaptable this young wife of the Xiao family was.
Without hesitation, Luo Fu said with envy, "Second sister-in-law is your own granddaughter. I know you would still dote on her even if she didn't fight for this opportunity. I'm the only outsider. If I don't seize this opportunity, why would you remember me next time you invite people to the opera?"
The Duchess was truly impressed and pinched her young wife's rosy cheeks.
The elders liked to be fawned over by the younger generation. When the Li family's grandchildren saw this scene, they had different feelings, especially those who were dissatisfied with Xiao Yu. Why should Xiao Yu's wife compete for their ancestor's favor?
After the opera, it was nearly noon and the sun was shining brightly. The Duchess asked Li Huaiyun to take her two sisters-in-law for a stroll in the garden before returning to the front for lunch, as there was plenty of time.
As she walked, Luo Fu suddenly felt a pain in her back. Turning around, she saw a pebble the size of a lychee on the ground. A chubby boy of about ten years old jumped out from behind the bushes opposite her and made faces at her without any shame.
Li Huaiyun was both angry and ashamed, and rebuked him, "Jiulang, why did you hurt someone?"
Li Jiulang: "I'm beating Xiao Yu's wife. Let's see if he dares to hit me and Seventh Brother again!"
After saying that, the brat ran off in a flash.
Luo Fu looked at her two sisters-in-law with a puzzled expression.
Yang Yanzhen and Li Huaiyun were also unaware of this matter. Xiao Yu was just their uncle, and he would never tell them what he did outside.
Luo Fu gritted her teeth. Regardless of why Xiao Yu hit him in the first place, just looking at Li Jiulang's纨绔 (spoiled brat) behavior, he deserved to be hit too!
And then there's Xiao Yu. She only went out to visit twice and encountered two groups of Xiao Yu's old enemies. Was it just too much of a coincidence, or did Xiao Yu have too many enemies?
The debt with Xiao Yu is one thing, and the debt with that little fat guy is another!
While verbally advising her two sisters-in-law not to argue with the child, Luo Fu remained silent on the way to the banquet, secretly brewing tears. When she reappeared in front of the Duchess, she appeared with slightly red eyes but feigned composure and a cheerful smile.
The Duchess remained calm and sent a maid to inquire about the situation from the maidservant beside her eldest granddaughter.
Not long after the banquet ended and the Deng family left, the Duchess sent someone to lock Li Jiulang in the ancestral hall, leaving him for the Duke to deal with when he returned—she was too lazy to bother with it and wanted the old man to be her strict grandfather!
A note from the author:
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Xiao Yu: You three, grandfather, grandmother, and grandson, just wait!
Li Gong: [Cracked][Cracked][Clown]
Here they are! 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow! [dove emoji]
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