"Old Madam He stared at Mother He, "Old Third Wife, how much silver did you give to the Cao family? Humph! Do you think I don't know that the Cao family wrote to Concubine Cao and begged for mercy, and then you gave the silver to Concubine Cao, and then transferred it to the Cao family? You are so smart, you took advantage of the loophole in my words!"
He's mother knew that her mother-in-law was always shrewd, so she didn't dare to argue. She just cried and said, "After all, she is my own sister. How can I watch her starve to death? Mother, you are kind-hearted, please have pity on them..."
"Starved to death?!" Madam He sneered. "When they left Beijing, you gave them enough money. If they had bought land, they would have had hundreds of acres. Add to that what you've given them since then, and they could have easily become wealthy locals in the countryside! But what about them? I've already written to them. The men of the Cao family spend their days pursuing women and girls, stealing and cheating. Your good sister lives a life of luxury, and she even charges high interest, forcing people to sell their children! You want me to pity them? Let me say this today: I pity pigs, dogs, and the beggars living at the foot of the imperial city, but I never pity this family!"
Cao Jinxiu turned pale, almost biting her lips until they bled. She couldn't help but retort, "Old lady, did you misunderstand? My parents said they had been farming diligently..."
"Oh, really?" Madam He suddenly laughed. "This time you and I are going back to our hometown, and we'll happen to pass by your mother's house on the way. You might as well go and take a look. If I'm wrong, I'll send you back immediately. If I'm right, you'll stay in Baishitan forever. How about that?"
Cao Jinxiu was choked, sobbed and stammered a few times, then said no more and knelt with her head down.
Madam He's disgust was evident in her words. She cursed angrily, "You two-faced slut! Even a toad from a stinking ditch would be more respectable than you! How dare you talk to me? You still want to accompany Hong Ge'er? Dream on!!"
Cao Jinxiu collapsed to the ground, her face flushed, she was so ashamed and angry that she began to sob softly.
Madam He turned to look at He's mother and said in a deep voice, "Third daughter-in-law, although you were widowed at a young age, the He family has never owed you anything. No matter what, your family has always taken the lion's share. I'm not a pedantic person. There's nothing wrong with a concubine remarrying, but she and her family are all low-minded, despicable and shameless people. If Hong'er lets them get involved, his life will be over!"
She took a breath and raised her voice, "I've made it clear to you today. Although Hong'er is your son, he is also a descendant of the He family. You can't use him as a favor to the Cao family!"
Mother He's face turned pale, and she was so confused that she could only tremble. She looked up at Madam He sadly and said, "Mother, why do you say that about your daughter-in-law? How can I have the face to live like this?!"
"You will survive!" Madam He said coldly, "Auntie Cao, I must take you away. Rather than watching Hong'er being dragged to death by you out of filial piety, I would rather be a wicked mother-in-law and watch you die!"
Mother He couldn't cry anymore. She looked at Madam He in panic. She smiled strangely, "Maybe you think the Cao family is more important than your own son, but I'm a black-hearted person. I only think my grandson is the most important!"
He's mother slumped on the ground in a daze, her whole body cold. Madam He's words rang out above her head: "Remember this clearly, my He family is the He family, and you are just the daughter-in-law of the He family. It is not your turn to use the He family's money to subsidize the Cao family! You have already ruined the He family's reputation. I can no longer trust you! You hand over Hong'er's property to me first, and then I will give it directly to Hong'er's daughter-in-law. I can't stop you from using your own dowry as a favor, but you have figured it out. My He family doesn't want a daughter-in-law who leaves a son without a dowry! Also, if the Cao family comes to make trouble again, I will report it directly to the local government office. I will kill those who deserve to be killed and beat those who deserve to be beaten. I will bear the retribution!"
Old Madam He was so imposing and domineering that she stared at He's mother and Cao Jinxiu without being able to say a word. They could only beg in fear and pleading, but Old Madam He was as hard as stone and didn't listen to a word. Cao Jinxiu couldn't help but want to scold, "You old pious man..." but was quickly covered by He's mother's hand. Cao Jinxiu might not know it, but He's mother knew that her mother-in-law had killed people. How many concubines, maids, and illegitimate sons and daughters had disappeared silently.
Madam He looked at them with a smile and said, "Don't be too sad. I don't want to trap Concubine Cao for the rest of your life. When Hong'er has children, I will send you back in ten or eight years, and you can be reunited as a family."
He's mother felt a chill in her heart as she looked at her mother-in-law. She knew her body and knew she wouldn't live another ten or eight years. She had originally thought that while she still had breath, she could let her son and Cao Jinxiu cultivate their relationship, so that after her death, Cao Jinxiu would be able to establish herself. But now her mother-in-law was—trying to wear her out?!
By then, I would be dead, my son and his wife would be loving and having a son and a daughter. What would be the point of sending the old and faded Cao Jinxiu back? It would just be to give her something to eat so she wouldn't starve to death.
He's mother was at a loss as to what was going on, but suddenly she had an idea and seemed to have thought of something.
Madam He knew what she was thinking the moment she saw her expression. She leisurely picked up her teacup and said slowly, "You'd better not instigate Hong's wife to come to me and beg me. If your wife or your son came to me and said they wanted to take Concubine Cao back, I would be a confused old woman and would not care about the right and wrong, whether you forced them or not. I would just send your niece to a nunnery and be done with it. Well, come to think of it, there seems to be a Tongchu Nunnery in Baishitan that specifically takes in women who have committed crimes..."
Cao Jinxiu could no longer hold on and fainted. He's mother stood there in a daze with a dull look in her eyes.
【Author has something to say】
Explanation of Madam He’s behavior - some people say that her behavior is a bit abrupt, or feels very strange.
Let me add a few points here.
Madam He was an understanding old lady. She knew very well the struggles within the inner house, but why didn't she take action earlier?
First of all, we need to understand that there are great differences in the thinking of ancient women and modern women. Modern women think that taking a concubine for their husband is a tragedy as tragic as the end of the world, but ancient women may not think it is a matter of life and death.
Madam He's initial inaction towards the Cao family was not intended to suppress Minglan, but she did not think taking a concubine was a big deal at all. It was just that Minglan was the granddaughter of her old sister, and she felt a little embarrassed to take a concubine before marriage, especially since the concubine was her cousin, and it would be difficult to control Minglan in the future.
But in essence, she didn't think that He Hongwen shouldn't take a concubine and that Minglan had to be the only one.
In "Dream of the Red Chamber", on Wang Xifeng's birthday, Jia Lian made love with Bao Erjia in the room and even planned to kill Wang Xifeng. Wang Xifeng reported this to Jia Mu, but Jia Mu just said, "After all, she is young and as greedy as a cat, so she got beaten like that."
Jia Lian did not receive any punishment. On the one hand, this was due to the corruption of the Jia family, but on the other hand, it also illustrates some problems. Because the readers are modern people, they overestimate the importance of taking a concubine in the minds of ancient people.
Furthermore, He's mother was widowed at a young age, and Mrs. He had always been very sympathetic to her. On one hand, there was the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for twenty years, and on the other hand, there was the granddaughter-in-law who had not yet entered the family. As an elder, how could she disrespect her daughter-in-law and only honor her granddaughter-in-law?
What's more, "she is just a concubine who cannot bear children", and He's mother was making a fuss about wanting to commit suicide, so in the end, Madam He made a compromise on the issue of cousin Cao marrying into the family.
This is different from Old Lady Sheng. She married the third place winner in the imperial examination for "true love", so she was sad and desperate. However, most ancient women, including Old Lady He, did not marry for the so-called "love".
At that time, what Old Lady He thought was that, given Minglan's status, she just needed to say more good things to the Sheng family and help Minglan more after marriage. In addition, He Hongwen already cared about Minglan, and Minglan was good at managing the household, so this marriage would eventually have a good result.
In fact, if nothing unexpected happened, Minglan would indeed marry into the He family.
However, someone intercepted them halfway. That guy's surname was Gu.
At this point, it was too late for Madam He to regret. One can imagine how angry she was. In addition, Cao Jinxiu was still restless after entering the house. Madam He became alert and realized the serious consequences of the matter. She then took drastic measures. Her first move was a killing move.
Old Madam He was not a good person or a saint. She was just an ordinary successful woman in ancient times. She had no reason to unconditionally support a granddaughter-in-law who had not yet married into the family (all the men in the He family had concubines, so why should the daughter of your Sheng family be so precious? You can't even accommodate a concubine). She didn't think a concubine was a problem at all. The problem was the endless entanglement and burden of the Cao family. Her focus was on the reputation of the He family and the happiness of her children and grandchildren.
…
Then let’s talk about He’s mother. Some people say that her spending is too much. The author reveals here that people like He’s mother have prototypes in reality. You can often see these top-notch people in the Tianya gossip section. As the saying goes, art comes from life and is higher than life.
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