Chapter Nine: The Power to Manage the Household
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu's expression suddenly turned serious. She said, "She seems intelligent and can handle many things on her own, but whether she needs it or not, your attitude can save her a lot of trouble. Back then, I was unable to conceive for a long time, while your father's two concubines each gave birth to a son. I was bullied by my mother-in-law and ridiculed by my concubines, both openly and secretly. Your father always stood by and watched. I suffered a lot of grievances."
When she recalled her youth, Old Madam Gu shed a tear of bitterness. Fortunately, she gave birth to her son when she was twenty-five, and her situation gradually improved. She didn't want her daughter-in-law to suffer the same hardships she had endured.
Gu Jingxi paused for a moment, then nodded: "Mother, rest assured, I will never let her be bullied. She is a Marquis's wife, representing the face of the Gu family. If others insult her, I will also lose face."
Madam Gu was not satisfied with this answer and said, "Putting face aside for now, you have to treat her as your wife. She used to be your prospective daughter-in-law, but now that she's married to you, she's your wife."
Gu Jingxi nodded again and assured her, "Don't worry, your son will not mistreat her. I failed to raise her properly and she suffered injustice. Now that she has married me, she will receive all the treatment due to a marquis's wife."
Old Madam Gu: "..."
Well, he's a slow learner. With more time together, they'll develop feelings for each other and probably become a harmonious couple.
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After leaving Shou'an Hall, Zhang and Chen walked together and talked.
After the younger generation had all left, Madam Zhang suddenly said with a hint of sarcasm, "Meng Jinyao has only just married into the family. Does Second Sister-in-law need to be so eager to curry favor with her?"
Madam Chen said calmly, "What do you mean by that, sister-in-law? I don't understand."
Zhang snorted coldly and mocked, "There's no one else around now, so why are you pretending to be stupid in front of me, Second Sister-in-law? We've been sisters-in-law for nearly twenty years, and I've never seen you discuss tea ceremony with me."
Upon hearing this, Madam Chen paused for a moment, then deftly retorted, "Didn't you say these are all pretentious things? I dislike them the most."
These words left Zhang speechless, as they struck a nerve.
She came from a poor family, but because her father was ambitious and became the top scholar in the imperial examination, and because of her beauty, she won her husband's heart and became the head wife of the Gu family.
She was already eleven years old when her father became the top scholar in the imperial examination. Many daughters of officials had already missed the opportunity to learn the necessary skills and could only hastily learn some things before marriage in order to marry into a better family. Because she did not learn them well, she made a few embarrassing mistakes and grew to hate these things.
Seeing her humiliated, Madam Chen's eyes flashed with contempt. She continued, "Instead of causing me trouble here, sister-in-law, you should go back and think about how to keep your power in the household. Although my sister-in-law is my sister-in-law, she is a marquis's wife and the old lady's own daughter-in-law. After she enters the family, what status do we have?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang felt a sense of crisis coming from all directions. Previously, because Gu Jingxi had not married and she was the eldest daughter-in-law of a concubine, the management of the household should have fallen into her hands, so her mother-in-law entrusted it to her.
However, her mother-in-law looked down on her humble origins, believing she was not capable of managing the household affairs. So, on the grounds that she needed to raise two sons and a daughter and might be too busy, she asked Chen, who came from a prestigious family but was not married into a noble family, to assist her. The two sisters-in-law then jointly managed the household affairs.
It has to be said that experience counts. The mother-in-law's move was truly brilliant. It achieved a balance between not showing favoritism and allowing them to supervise each other, preventing any trouble and making it harder for them to secretly seek personal gain.
Madam Chen glanced at her indifferently, covered her mouth and yawned softly, saying, "Sister-in-law, I didn't sleep well last night and I'm very tired today. I need to go back and rest. Please make yourself at home."
After saying this, she left gracefully, leaving Zhang with a solemn expression.
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