The conversation that night was clearly about questioning Ms. Lin's guilt, but the topic went off track at some point. Ms. Lin went from being a defendant to being the plaintiff, and the case changed from investigating the inexplicable cause of Aunt Wei's death to tracking and investigating the incident of the first wife persecuting the second wife. The process was so vague, like an antelope hanging on a horn, with no trace to be found, and the audience was unknowingly confused. In fact, on the surface, Ms. Lin did not accuse Wang of any crime, but every word she said seemed to imply something. Even a professional like Yao Yiyi, who was used to going to court, felt as if Wang had wronged her and framed her.
Ms. Lin's selfless appearance soon took effect. Comrade Sheng Hong suspended the punishment measures and went to Aunt Lin's room to sit for a while the next day. Aunt Lin dismissed everyone and took a small colorful covered bell from Cheng kiln to brew a bowl of strong Tieguanyin for Sheng Hong, which was exactly the degree of heat that Sheng Hong usually liked. Looking at Aunt Lin in a thin moon-white silk shirt and a small silver flower twisted hairpin in her cloud-like hair, she looked so pitiful and delicate like a flower. Even if she was very angry when she came, half of it had subsided.
"Yesterday at the Madam's place, I saved your face. According to what you said, you had nothing to do with Aunt Wei's death?" Sheng Hong said coldly. After all, he had been in officialdom before, so he still remembered what he was doing here.
Lin Yi Niang's eyes were filled with tears: "Master, please give me face, how could I not know? Master came to talk to me alone today, so I just laid it out. That Wei Yi Niang was asked for by Madam, and before that, Madam brought out Xiang Yi Niang and Ping Yi Niang one after another. What is the purpose of this? Everyone in the mansion knows it, it's just that Madam doesn't like it because she sees that Master loves and pities me. I am alone and powerless in this mansion. I don't even have anyone to talk to. If I don't put some capable and reliable people around me, and I don't know how being abused doesn't matter to me, but I can't let Brother Feng and Sister Mo suffer. That's why I closed the door and distanced myself from everything. I stay out of everything on weekdays, just to keep myself safe. When Aunt Wei got into trouble that night, I was indeed selfish and didn't want to pay attention, but to say that I deliberately wanted to kill her is really slanderous. Honglang, Honglang, even if I have a thousand faults, please look at Brother Feng and Sister Mo's face. The teacher praised Brother Feng for his good studies the other day.
Sheng Hong's heart moved, but he silently picked up the teacup and took a sip. Aunt Lin slowly leaned over to sit beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, and whispered, "Hong'er, I know you very well. When we first became lovers, Master swore to me that he would never let anyone bully me. That's why he, despite the Madam's family's disapproval, bought me land and shops so that I could hold my head high in the mansion. Hong'er has treated me with such kindness, how could I not know that? If I had done something so cruel, I would have been punished by heaven and earth and died a miserable death."
Her voice was gentle and charming, even the oath sounded like love talk. Sheng Hong couldn't help but relax his brows. Just as he was about to reach out and embrace Aunt Lin for some tenderness, he suddenly remembered what he had said to Old Madam Sheng that day, so he retracted his hand and pushed Aunt Lin away.
Aunt Lin had always been able to control Sheng Hong's temper, and she never expected to be pushed away. She didn't show any emotion on her face, but just looked at Sheng Hong with tears in her eyes. Sheng Hong looked at Aunt Lin and said in a deep voice, "The matter of Aunt Wei is over now. I will order my wife and I to let no one in the house mention it. But from today on, there are a few things I want to make clear to you."
He stood in front of the kang with his hands behind his back as he spoke. "I've been guilty of what happened today, too. I was so obsessed with pity and love for you that I forgot the words of the sages. There's an order of seniority, and a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. A family like ours won't follow the merchant families and bring shame upon themselves by having a concubine. Even if the mistress has a thousand faults, she's still older than you, and you should be courteous to her. From now on, you'll remove that small kitchen, and I'll stop all your expenses. The maids and servants in your yard will receive the same share as everyone else in the mansion, with no favoritism or discrimination. If you wish to reward anyone, you can do so yourself. All matters will be handled according to the rules of the mansion. I imagine you've saved quite a bit over the years, and it's more than enough. From now on, you must abide by the rules and pay your respects to the mistress every day. If you feel unwell, you can visit her the next day. But from now on, I ask that the people in your yard behave themselves and not be disrespectful to the mistress or say anything unruly or outrageous. If I find out, I'll have them all beaten to death or sold!"
Aunt Lin's face paled, and her heart sank. Just as she was about to defend herself, Sheng Hong continued, "I'm not ignorant of the situation. You and the Madam have been at odds for a long time, and I don't expect you and her to reconcile overnight. But you must first submit. I won't take back the property I gave you. I'll give it back to you, but you can't arbitrarily appoint managers. Back then, those two relatives of yours were drinking and entertaining opera singers every day in Quanzhou, and their pomp and circumstance was even greater than mine. From now on, the managers you appoint must be approved by me. You are not allowed to hire those reckless bastards anymore. They will tarnish the reputation of our Sheng family! ... Feng'er and Mo'er will remain with you. If you really cared about the children, you wouldn't have gotten to this point. Now think more about those two children."
Concubine Lin had a lot to say, but after hearing Sheng Hong's last words, she fell silent. She knew that if Sheng Hong wanted to continue his official career and maintain a good reputation, he couldn't let anyone catch him with any flaws in his personal ethics. Sheng Hong had just said that she should be humble, but he hadn't stripped her of her property or separated her children. This was already the bottom line. After all, she had a significant role in Concubine Wei's death, and it was a great blessing that the case was closed like this. She was a smart person and knew when to quit. Although she felt unwilling, she gritted her teeth and endured it, instead gathering her spirits to be affectionate with Sheng Hong.
Sheng Hong stayed with Aunt Lin for a while, then went straight to Wang's main room, as he had a tough battle to fight.
He came to Wang's room and dismissed the maids as usual, leaving only the couple to talk in the inner room. After he explained what he had just said to Aunt Lin, Wang's face was filled with anger: "Your darling, when did I dare to say anything? Do whatever you want, how dare I say no!"
Sheng Hong took a deep breath. "Don't assume I don't know. I only have three questions for you. First, there's nothing wrong with my uncle's family. Why did you wait until a few days before Concubine Wei was due to give birth, and drag me there? Second, there are four midwives in the mansion, three of whom were brought in as your dowry. You know better than I do who they follow. Third, how could I have such a coincidence that I returned home just in time to see Concubine Wei for the last time?"
Wang was slightly startled, but she said calmly: "If you have done nothing wrong in your life, even if you knock on the door in the middle of the night, no ghost will come! When I left that day, I specially asked a doctor to check Concubine Wei's pulse. She was obviously fine. The doctor was Doctor Liao, the one that Master trusted the most. If Master doesn't believe it, you can ask him yourself. He said that Concubine Wei had been working for many years before she got married. She was in good health and could have given birth naturally even without a midwife. But after I left, Concubine Lin kept putting cold things in Concubine Wei's food and drink, which caused Concubine Wei to have trouble giving birth. Concubine Lin had plenty of money, and she had a lot of money in her. There are plenty of people outside. Even if my dowry maid doesn't obey orders, does that mean she has no one to use? It's obvious that she is eloquent and the master believed her. There are so many midwives in Quanzhou City. She took several hours to call a midwife. Even if it wasn't her intention, it was her subordinates who were too lax! Humph, I stood upright. Even if I had some fancy tricks, I just wanted to see how Aunt Lin would respond. If she had no intention of harming anyone, Aunt Wei would have been ignored and could have given birth to a child safely in the courtyard by herself."
Sheng Hong didn't argue, but nodded repeatedly. "I've already investigated the underlying situation. Lin is heavily involved in this incident, but it's not like she really intended to kill anyone. It's just that Concubine Wei was unlucky, and the two of them just happened to collide. Your concubines have always been at odds with Lin, and it's not like they were deliberately dragging things out. Now that things have come to this, can I really kill Concubine Lin to avenge her death? If those two children harbor resentment, how can we have peace in our home?"
Wang was angry. She turned away and ignored Sheng Hong, then picked up her handkerchief and twisted it in anger.
Sheng Hong sat down beside Wang and softly advised, "I have wronged Madam these past few years. Madam, rest assured, from now on, I will no longer indulge Concubine Lin. You are the elder and she is the younger. You are my legally appointed wife, the one who will share the incense of the ancestral hall with me for a hundred years. Even if Concubine Lin turns the tables, she will not be able to get past you. She will pay you her respects and serve you by fetching water."
Wang was delighted and turned around and said with a smile: "Are you willing to give it up?"
Sheng Hong simply put his arm around Wang's waist and gently stroked her: "There's nothing to be reluctant about. The Sheng family should be the most important thing. No matter how important Concubine Lin is, can it be more important than the dignity of the whole family? Madam, you should follow the rules of the family and remember your own rules. If you don't stand up straight first, how can you expect others to obey? As for the old lady..."
Wang Shi had been touched by him a few times, and her body had already softened. It had been a long time since she had been so close to Sheng Hong, and her heart was filled with tenderness. "I know I have my shortcomings, but don't worry, as long as she behaves, I will not bully her, nor will I get angry with the master again. The children are already so grown up, so why would I be jealous of her?"
Sheng Hong's tone softened as he touched Wang's face. He then continued, hugging her and blowing softly into her ear, teasing her until her face flushed and her breath felt hot. "My dear wife, you are a daughter of a wealthy family. You know that a family without good traditions will lead to unrest. Now we should look forward. Hua Jie'er is about to reach the age of marriage, and the marriage is just around the corner. If something embarrassing happens in our family and it gets out, wouldn't it also implicate Hua Jie'er? Hua'er is my firstborn daughter, and a legitimate one. I'm thinking of finding her a perfect son-in-law, so that I can show off my status as the father-in-law."
Wang Shi smiled brightly and became even more obedient: "Master, you are right. I will listen to you."
Classmate Yao Yiyi was lying in the cubicle. She finally had a bowl of fragrant shredded chicken and rice porridge for the first time yesterday. She felt a little more energetic today and lay on the couch, unable to fall asleep. She felt embarrassed again because she had overheard what the couple said.
Well, how do I put this?
The chaos in the Sheng Mansion stemmed from the rise of Concubine Lin. It's fair to say that Concubine Lin abandoned her position as the legitimate wife and opted for a concubine because she knew exactly who she was and how to best serve her. She wasn't the clueless You Erjie; she chose Sheng Hong because she knew he was an independent man who wouldn't be controlled by his wife. She also knew the hardships Sheng Hong endured as a concubine in his early years, and using this as a starting point secured her an unbeatable position within the Sheng Mansion.
Yao Yiyi felt that there was no need to blame Sheng Hong's father. It could only be said that a man's forgiveness for his lover was unprincipled, while his respect for his wife, who had little love for him, was conditional. Sheng Hong, an educated feudal scholar-official, although abiding by etiquette, was still a young bureaucrat with aspirations and culture, and he still had a need for emotion. Wang Shi's marriage to him was an arranged marriage, but if the two people worked hard after marriage, arranged marriages could also produce a deeply loving couple. Unfortunately, Wang Shi made some mistakes in this regard. Meanwhile, for Sheng Hong, Aunt Lin was the result of free love. Unbeknownst to the public, the two of them kept their relationship secret, and the more they suppressed their emotions, the stronger they became. At that time, Sheng Hong must have been truly moved.
It is hard to believe that Xu Zhimo's deep affection for Lin Huiyin and Lu Xiaoman, and his cold and cruel treatment of Zhang Youyi, are the same person. Compared with the great talent Xu, Sheng Hong is still relatively restrained.
It must be that Aunt Lin has good vision and even better luck. Sheng Hong is not the cowardly and foolish Jia Lian. After all, he climbed up to his current status from a bastard's son. He knows very well that there are only two areas where concubines are bullied by the main wife: daily life and child rearing. So he decided to go all out and simply give Aunt Lin an independent source of income. With money, she will naturally be more powerful. He was the first to break the rules and insisted that Aunt Lin raise her children by herself.
But in this way, the rules are gone. As time goes by, Aunt Lin gives birth to children, and Wang is unable to pull her husband back emotionally. Aunt Lin's position becomes more and more stable. She begins to cultivate her own confidants and gradually becomes a rival to Wang. From inside to outside, the Sheng Mansion gradually forms two factions, and the war intensifies. Aunt Wei, the biological mother of Yao Yiyi's current body, is an innocent cannon fodder in this confrontation between wives and concubines.
The Guliang Chronicle states: "Don't marry a concubine." This means that a concubine is not eligible to be promoted to a wife. A man with concubines but no wife is still considered unmarried. If the wife dies, the husband is a widower, even if he has many concubines, and must seek another wife from a respectable family.
But rules are dead, people are alive, and these are just rules, not laws, so there are some who slip through the net. For example, there is a lucky concubine like Jiao Xing who was promoted to the main wife. Although such examples are not many, they do exist.
Yao Yiyi studied law and knew that, fundamentally, the laws of feudal society protected the rights of men. Once a man's entire interests were vested in a woman other than his wife, the wife would inevitably abdicate, a tragic fate, but fortunately not uncommon. The unfortunate Chen Shimei was beheaded by Bao Ye, not because he divorced his wife and remarried, but because he had committed homicide. Men convicted of bigamy were not subject to execution, but of course, in the strict ethics of ancient times, if one, like Sheng Hong, aspired to advance in the government, one could not afford to tarnish their reputation.
In the first few years, Sheng Hong didn't care about anything and was deeply in love with Aunt Lin, and was unwilling to come ashore. But he was a rational feudal scholar after all, not a poet of the Republic of China who took it as his mission to break through the feudal shackles. His enthusiasm for Aunt Lin would eventually fade, and the intervention of Wang's family accelerated this process.
The Wang family contributed manpower and effort, and even came up with the beauty trap. This tactic is not new, but it is effective. From ancient times to the present, it has been tried and tested by the court and the people. However, unexpectedly, Concubine Lin was so powerful that she even had several attractive maids, but she couldn't win Sheng Hong back. After all, Concubine Lin was born into an official family and was beautiful. When she talked to Sheng Hong about poetry, songs, and love, even the Wang family couldn't get a word in, let alone the maids.
So Wang took a different approach and found a commoner woman named Wei who was in trouble. Although she did not have a good literary education, she possessed the most direct and immediate advantage of all women: beauty.
As expected, true love is worth more than breasts. Sheng Hong was charmed by Wei Shi as soon as he saw her. It didn't matter that she couldn't read, he would teach her. It didn't matter that she didn't understand poetry, calligraphy or painting, he would give her guidance. It was a joy to be close to her and have her fragrance added to the fragrance. In addition, Wei Shi had a gentle and honest personality, so Sheng Hong really fell in love with her.
Now Aunt Lin was anxious. All she relied on was Sheng Hong's favor. How could she allow others to snore beside her bed? She would never allow anyone to step into her territory. She wanted to torment Aunt Wei. She didn't want to kill her at first, but just wanted to get rid of the fetus, or even better, destroy her body.
But Aunt Wei was extremely unlucky and died immediately.
The death of Aunt Wei made Sheng Hong suddenly wake up. Even though he did not have the same affection for her as he did for Aunt Lin, she was still a woman he had slept with. Seeing her die in a pool of blood, Sheng Hong finally realized that the conflicts within the family had intensified. As an official who had been on duty outside the family for many years, how could Sheng Hong not understand that the death of Aunt Wei was actually the result of the breakdown of rules in the mansion.
The brutality of the struggle between wives and concubines made Sheng Hong shudder, so he made up his mind to make things right. To restore the good family hierarchy rules, he had to give up his excessive preference for Aunt Lin, climb ashore from the sea of love, and manage the family fairly and moderately from the perspective of the head of the family.
But even so, he still didn't dare to hand over Aunt Lin and her child completely to Wang's hands. He knew that the rift between the two women would not be resolved in a day or two.
This time, Wang basically got what she wanted. Even if she still couldn't beat Aunt Lin in love, at least she gained the status of the only mistress in the family. The wife of the main house is always wary of concubines, especially when facing a noble concubine, she feels more crisis-ridden. Just as Daiyu said, either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind.
Baoyu's mother's indifferent attitude towards Aunt Zhao was based on the huge disparity in power between the two. One was from the wealthy and noble Wang family, while the other's entire family consisted of slaves, not even free people, and she herself was a servant of a family.
The reason why Wang Xifeng was so wary of You Erjie and didn't take Qiu Tong seriously was because You Erjie was a noble concubine, and she had been married for many years and was in her twenties but still hadn't given birth to a son. She had committed one of the seven grounds for divorce, and there was no reason not to let her take a concubine. It was just that she had the support of her natal family that no one had ever said anything to her. Once You Erjie gave birth to a son, not to mention replacing her, it would at least endanger her position. So when Wang Xifeng heard about You Erjie, she immediately drew her sword.
The dispute between wives and concubines is a very complicated issue, involving wisdom, perseverance, courage, family background, personal character, and of course luck. Various factors play a role in it. It can only be said that the advantage is basically on the side of the wife. Even if the concubine has the status of the second wife, the possibility of breaking through the siege and being promoted to the main wife is still not high.
Among so many unlucky women in the whole Dream of Red Mansions, only Jiao Xing had such luck. It is still unclear whether Ping'er and Xiangling were later promoted to the position of legitimate wife. Even if they were, it was when Xue Pan and Jia Lian were in dire straits, so it was not a great thing.
Poor Concubine Wei was just one of many unfortunate concubines. Her death was like a tiny ripple in the ocean, causing some commotion but ultimately drowning out the noise. Later, Sheng Hong and Wang Shi, to maintain their family's prestige, replaced the servants one by one. Concubine Lin herself, of course, kept quiet. Gradually, no one in the Sheng family mentioned Concubine Wei's death anymore, and few even knew of this beautiful, timid woman who had tragically met her end.
When Yao Yiyi thought of this, she lost her will to live. She didn't have a powerful concubine as her biological mother, nor was she born to a legitimate mother. Her position in the Sheng family in the future would be very delicate. Her reincarnation this time was really useless, better than the bad ones, worse than the good ones, not enough compared to the good ones, and not much better than the bad ones.
How can one survive in this world? At the age of five, almost six, Sheng Minglan began to seriously consider the question of survival.
【Author has something to say】
I recently reread the vernacular novels of the Ming Dynasty and "Dream of the Red Chamber" and found a problem. It seems that the feudal scholars and officials of the Ming Dynasty still had to interfere in family affairs, while in the Qing Dynasty, especially the men of the Manchu nobles basically did not care about anything and left all matters, big and small, to women. Those who had jobs were fine, but those who didn't would just take cages and go out for bird walks.
This is a big difference between men in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The literati in the Ming Dynasty paid attention to the perfect cultivation of personal conduct and morality, and basically followed the Han people's four-step "cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world". Among them, good family management is also one of the moral standards of literati. Of course, they did not take care of trivial matters at home, but restrained the general words and deeds of women in the family.
When the Manchus entered the Central Plains during the Qing Dynasty, they brought with them not only the Eight Banners system, but also the custom of the "grandmother in charge" (you can refer to the second grandmother in the TV series "The Mansion Gate", whose father-in-law, husband, and brother-in-law all listened to her. The original book wrote it more clearly, that this kind of being in charge of the household was no longer just about managing the children's accounts, but directly deciding on major matters in the direction of the family's economic life).
In order to maximize the military strength and military routes of the Manchus, Nurhaci created the Eight Banners system and made all the people soldiers. At that time, the custom of the Manchus was that men went out to fight and rob things, and everything in the family was managed by women. From the income and expenditure of money to the marriage and future of children, women could basically make all the decisions.
Later, when the Qing Dynasty entered the pass and established the government, the Manchu men were free to graze in the mountains and had nothing to do for a while. On TV, we saw those Manchu men who were given a silver coin when they were born, wandering around the streets and alleys and walking their birds idly. There were also many men with yellow and red belts among them. These people were commonly known as "iron-core farmers" (this privilege was not abolished until the Republic of China).
During the Qing Dynasty, some Han official families who entered the government through the imperial examination system still adhered to the Han people's four steps of "cultivating oneself, managing the family, governing the country, and pacifying the world". For example, the Zhang family of the famous Qing Dynasty official Zhang Tingyu and the Liu family of Liu Yong were famous for their strict management of their family and descendants (so they have always been peaceful); however, following the example of their superiors, the Manchus and some Han people in the banner who had formed kinship with the Manchus gradually accepted Manchu customs, such as the family of Cao Xueqin, the Jiangning Weaving Commissioner.
In "Dream of the Red Chamber," nearly all the adult men in the Jia family are idle, leaving the household to capable women like Wang Xifeng. This leaves Wang Xifeng's misdeeds (lending money at interest, accepting bribes, and even litigating murders) unattended by the men (Jia Lian) or completely oblivious (Jia Zheng). The women in "Dream of the Red Chamber," from Lady Wang to Tanchun, Baochai, and Daiyu, are generally superior to the men in both knowledge and management. This phenomenon of yin dominance and yang deficiency was likely not isolated to the early Qing Dynasty. The saying, "Who can rule a country among the rich and powerful? Only a few women can manage a household" likely reflects the prevailing reality.
(That's about it, please don't delve into it. If you do, please stay calm.)
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