Chapter 102 Chapter 102 Two Chapters in One
Mrs. Shen from the Wei family is over 40 years old this year. She is not the dull and gloomy widow that people imagine. She has a fair complexion and a short stature. She wears a royal blue silk long jacket, and her black hair is pinned with a white jade hairpin. She exudes a scholarly air.
Jinniang was brought to meet her by Madam Wei and said quickly, "Thank you for not abandoning me. I will leave my daughter in your care."
Madam Shen quickly saluted: “You are too polite, madam.”
"I have always been the one teaching my daughter carelessly at home. Please bear with me." Jinniang said.
Madam Shen also responded with a few words.
Then Jinniang and Madam Wei talked about the tuition, and Madam Wei smiled and said, "It's not a big deal, why waste that money."
Jinniang smiled and said, "If you don't want us to come, we won't dare to come."
Only then did Mrs. Wei tell Jinniang the amount of the tuition and asked her to give it directly to Mrs. Shen. The annual salary was twenty-four strings of cash, and Jinniang also bought a plain gauze headscarf and two purple crepe handkerchiefs.
Sister Yun also said: "Mom, my brother and I are learning very well here with Mr. Du, why do we have to go to the Wei family to study?"
"There are seven female students in the Wei Family Girls' School. When you go there, you can not only study, but also learn how to make incense, brew tea, play chuiwan, play polo, and make some friends. How great is that." Jinniang said.
When she heard that she could learn so many things, Sister Yun was willing to go, and she even picked out a pair of purses she had made herself. Jinniang could not help but nod. She would have to go meet Madam Wei when the time came. The little girls usually gave her a few colored silk threads. Fortunately, with her own teaching, Yunjie was very familiar with sewing purses, stockings, and making lace.
The mother and daughter picked out the clothes they would wear that day. It was already October, the Stove-Warming Festival had just passed, and the weather in Daming Prefecture had begun to get cold. I had to find the jackets at the bottom of the box, dry them out and scatter them around, and I was busy having a lot of fun.
Only Ning Ge pouted: "Wuwuwu, I want to study with my sister."
Jinniang smiled and said, "If you say that, be careful or I'll tell Mr. Du."
Sure enough, Ning'er stopped pretending to cry and ran to Jinniang's arms and nestled in her arms. Sister Yun pinched her brother's chubby little hand and said, "We can still do our homework together every day."
"That's right. Come to your mother's place to do your homework every day. After you finish and have dinner, we can go to the back garden to play, okay?" Jinniang touched the two children's heads.
When Ning Ge heard the word "play", he laughed again.
The next day, Jiao Xing helped Yun Jie'er to comb her hair into double buns. She put on a red tassel headband with a crabapple red print and pearls on the buns, and a gilded hairpin on one side. She was wearing a cross-collared jacket with a camellia pattern, a silk band of the same color as the headband on her head, moon-white silk trousers, and a pair of brown flat-toed shoes.
Jinniang wore a golden crown on her head today and dressed very formally to send her daughter there, but it was not appropriate for her to attend the teacher's class. She just looked around, thought it was pretty good, and went straight back.
After returning from the Wei family, Fang's mother saw Jinniang in a daze for a while, and couldn't help but smile and said, "Are you feeling empty inside? When the Sixth Madam was alive, she always said that the children were noisy when they were around, and they missed them when they were not around."
Jinniang just wanted to say that she was finally liberated. She didn't want to think too much about it. She still had a lot of things to do. For example, if I continue to learn poetry using the clumsy method, I would spend one hour every day memorizing poetry, and then another two to three hours writing it down.
At noon she had to rest for half an hour, and after getting up she would relax for a while before continuing her favorite embroidery.
There are so many things to do!
So, in response to Fang's mother's words, Jinniang only responded with a few dry laughs.
After sending her daughter away, she took out Wang Wei's poems and began to recite them. Half of them were poems she had learned in her previous life or were familiar to her. Now she looked at a less familiar poem, "Poems Written in Wangchuan Village after Rain", and savored the words "White egrets fly over the vast paddy fields, and orioles sing in the shady summer trees."
"Why can't I write such good poems? Well, if I can reach this level, I can support myself by teaching." Jinniang shook her head.
Ah Ying made some hot tea and came over and said, "Madam, why don't you tell me that Madam Shen doesn't get married? She doesn't have any children."
Jinniang took a sip of tea and looked at Ah Ying and said, "Not every woman wants to get married. She now has a salary of more than 100 taels a year. Given her age, she can still teach for at least another 10 to 20 years. If she can save up a fortune of over 1,000 taels, it will be enough for her retirement."
Speaking of which, the tuition for his son and daughter cost nearly 60 strings of coins, and the house cost more than 500 strings of coins, which was not enough to buy daily necessities. It seems that more people go out than come in when they come to work in Daming Prefecture.
"You're right." Aying also thought it made sense.
Jinniang drank a cup of tea and began to read Yu Shinan's "Cicada", drinking the dewdrops with her neck hanging down, the sound of water flowing out of the sparse paulownia tree. The sound is far away because of the high place, it is not borrowed from the autumn wind.
For lunch, she asked Juxiang to prepare her the same diet meal as before, two punches of vegetables, one punch of protein, and one punch of carbohydrates.
Normally, when I eat with the children, I am afraid that they will be picky eaters. Now, both the big and small ones go to school, and even Ning Ge'er eats at Linglong Pavilion. It's just right for Jinniang to eat alone.
In the afternoon, she tried her hand at writing a poem and nervously placed it on the desk, waiting for Jiang Xian's comments.
Ning Ge'er finished school early. As soon as he got out of school, he came to Jinniang's place, had some snacks, and then started doing his homework. This has been a habit they have had since childhood, finishing the tasks at hand before playing, otherwise they will easily develop the bad habit of procrastination.
"Mom, why don't you eat this snack?" Ning Ge'er found that the snacks he stuffed into his mother's mouth were put aside by her.
Jinniang shook her head: "Mother can't eat this, you eat more, we'll eat after sister and your father come back, okay?"
Ning Ge'er nodded heavily. Soon, Yun Jie'er also came back. Jin Niang naturally asked her, "How was your first day today? Did you get along well with the other girls?"
"Sister Wei is very nice to me. She even takes her daughter to the toilet herself. And elder sister Ji is also very enthusiastic in teaching me to do my homework. Third sister Ji sits at the same table with me. She is two months younger than me." Sister Yun said.
Seeing that she was able to adapt, Jinniang felt relieved and asked her to finish her homework quickly and go to the garden behind to play after she finished.
Jinniang would check the homework of both children carefully. The younger one would recite the books, while the older one would recite and practice calligraphy.
Yun Jie'er had to write two pieces of regular script and one piece of running script. Jin Niang often asked her to trace the red characters at home when she had nothing to do, so it went very smoothly for her.
After finishing their homework, the children went to the back garden to play shuttlecock and spinning top together.
When Jiang Xian came back, he heard that the three of them were playing, especially Jinniang, who was playing shuttlecock. She looked more lively and agile in the sun, so he quickly joined in...
There were laughter and joy in the back garden, and even Fang's mother smiled and shook her head: "It's just the nature of children."
But Ruyan was confused when she saw this. She had learned coroner and medical skills from Jiang Liujie for two years, but she was not very skilled. After all, she had only studied for such a short time, how could she possibly become a master? What happened was that after she arrived in Daming Prefecture, she heard that there were several coroners in Daming Prefecture, and she had no place to use her skills at all.
Although Madam Wei treated her well, she was neither a master nor a servant, and she also took a share of the salary from others. This was not a long-term solution.
But where should she go?
When it was time for dinner, Jinniang asked the children to wipe their sweat first. There was no need to urge them today. After exercise, everyone ate up everything in no time. Even Yunjie, who was always picky about food, finished her meal cleanly.
After the children finished eating, they washed up and went to bed. Jinniang gave her poem to Jiang Xian for comments. Jiang Xian raised his eyebrows and said, "This time it's much better than last time." But then he also pointed out some shortcomings, such as being too mechanical and using allusions incorrectly.
"Thank you for your comments. I'll show it to you when I think it's well written," said Jinniang.
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "You're welcome."
Being too eager to share is not a good thing. Jinniang likes to work hard silently and make a splash.
However, now she slowly hugged Jiang Xian: "Are you tired today?"
Jiang Xian saw that she was only wearing a layer of gauze on the outside, and a jade-colored dress inside. The jade color and her skin as white as mutton-fat jade were almost integrated. She wore pomegranate red flat shoes on one foot. There was charm in the corners of her eyebrows and eyes, and her innocence and charm were almost unpredictable at the same time. How could he bear it any longer? He just felt that he was really lucky.
The two rolled together, the mandarin duck tent was let down, the autumn wind was blowing outside, and the relationship inside was heating up.
Overnight, it seemed as if the weather in Daming Prefecture had started to get colder. Yesterday I was still playing outside with my jacket off, but today I had to wear a coat. Jinniang was wearing a light purple double-breasted jacket with mud-gold patterns, a lotus-colored folded skirt, and a pair of bright red phoenix-head high-heeled shoes under her skirt. She wore a silver-engraved gold crown with a Ruyi cloud pattern on her head, with velvet flowers piled on both sides and a comb curtain decorating her forehead.
She observed that the women of the Wei and Zhen families all admired richness in their dress. This richness was different from that of Wu County. Most people in Wu County admired clothes with intricate embroidery and gold-painted prints, but they did not like bright colors. Even the crowns given as gifts were not tall. Many of the women in Daming Prefecture wore brightly colored clothes, such as red brocade dresses and green satin skirts. They liked to wear their hair in high buns and dressed in a rather high-profile manner.
Originally, Jinniang was planning to wear a red jacket and green skirt, but it really didn't match her temperament, so she dressed according to her own preferences.
After making proper preparations, he brought a few gifts and a note to the door.
But I never expected Madam Qian to be so enthusiastic. As soon as I entered the second door, I saw a petite and capable woman coming to greet me: "I should have asked you to come over earlier. Sister is really a very pretty person."
Here, calling each other "sister" does not mean who is older than the other, but is a sign of respect. Jinniang said hurriedly, "Sister, what are you talking about? I should have come to pay my respects, but my family is busy, and I don't know the rules of the sisters. I am afraid that if I rashly come to make friends, I will be blamed by the sisters."
When Madam Qian saw that Jinniang was dressed elegantly and spoke softly, she became even more delighted. She linked her arm with hers and walked in, chatting about the latest happenings in Daming Prefecture along the way. Jinniang thought that this was the way to entertain guests.
It is said that Madam Qian took her to a flower hall, where several ladies were already sitting, and they were meeting each other. Mrs. Ji, the wife of the magistrate, was in her thirties and not very outstanding in appearance. She wore a crown of Chonglou flowers and a jacket with green patterns of Baoxiang flowers, which gave her an air of wealth and nobility. There was another young woman, wearing a bunch of chrysanthemum hairpins on her head and white jade combs on both sides. She had a dignified appearance and elegant manners. It turned out that this was Magistrate Wang's daughter-in-law, Wu, who came from a prominent family.
The wives of the officials from various departments also came to meet him.
Madam Qian was very good at livening up the atmosphere: "The wife of the official Jiang Tui has just arrived. Why don't we have a banquet in my small garden? I have just called two singing girls from my house to come out. Let's get to know each other better."
From the flower hall, passing the moon gate, then passing a ceremonial gate and going around the rockery, you will see a garden with fragrant flowers and gurgling water, which is very pleasant. It can be seen that Judge Dong's family is quite wealthy. Even in Daming Prefecture, a large house like this with a garden and pond would probably cost around five thousand taels.
The small garden in her house was created by sacrificing three courtyards. In fact, the house is less than one-fifth the size of Mrs. Qian's house.
After everyone was seated, Jinniang sat below Madam Qian, opposite her were Mrs. Wu and Madam Ji.
Wu took the initiative to ask Jinniang: "I wonder how young you are?"
"Twenty-eight years old." Jinniang said.
Wu smiled and said, "My lady and I are of the same age, why don't we call each other sisters?"
Jinniang asked, "How dare I marry my sister?"
The two of them chatted with each other and finally got into a conversation. Wu's husband was a magistrate in Xiangzhou, and she also gave birth to a son and a daughter. The son was raised by his mother-in-law, and the daughter was raised by her. However, she got married at the age of sixteen, and now her daughter is eleven years old and has been engaged.
At this time, Madam Qian said, "It is the sixth son of the wealthy Wei family in this prefecture who has been chosen."
"It's him." Jinniang had been to the Wei family twice and had seen this Wei Liulang, who was said to be the son of the eldest and concubine wives of the Wei family.
Wu asked curiously, "Does the lady have any dealings with the Wei family?"
Jinniang smiled and said, "Because my daughter is studying at Wei's private school, I heard about it when I sent her there last time."
"Oh, Madam Ji, aren't your three beautiful girls also studying at the Wei Family Girls' School?" Madam Qian interrupted the topic at the right time.
Jinniang thought it was no wonder that everyone was willing to come and play with Madam Qian. She didn't know her at all, but she brought her into the circle. No matter what other people's selfish motives were, they were all positive towards her.
At this time, Mrs. Ji also smiled and said, "Mrs. Jiang, bring the children to our house to play when the time comes."
Jinniang also talked to her about some family matters. At this time, the dishes were served and the sound of stringed instruments began to drift over. Madam Qian then said to Madam Jin, "Madam Wu always greets everyone she meets and is very kind and generous."
"I'd like to thank my sister for introducing me to everyone." Jinniang said in a low voice.
Madam Qian thought that the magistrate's wife was a very smart person. Not only could she communicate with anyone, but she also knew her good intentions. So she said, "Come more often in the future, sister."
Jinniang smiled and replied.
After the meal, everyone started playing tossing pots, backgammon, and chess. No one was forced. At the beginning, Jinniang was in the big circle, but after a while she was pulled over by Madam Qian to play with Madam Ji and Mrs. Wu.
Everyone was talking while wiping cards. Madam Ji was asking Wu: "Why didn't your old lady come today?"
"The old man originally wanted to come here, but the climate changed to become too cold. He felt a little uncomfortable when he woke up in the morning, so he sent me here." Mrs. Wu said.
Madam Ji sighed and said, "We can't be careless. A minor illness can easily become a major one."
Wu Shi answered seriously, and Madam Qian also said a lot of ways to maintain her beauty, and reminded Jin Niang: "The winter in Daming Prefecture is very cold, so you have to prepare thick clothes."
"I have prepared clothes, but my body is dry. My heels were cracked in the first few days after I arrived. I thought something was wrong, but it turned out to be just dry cracks." Jinniang was indeed a little uncomfortable.
Madam Qian laughed and said, "That won't work. You need to apply some ointment."
Among the three, Jinniang and Madam Ji didn't say much, but Madam Qian and Mrs. Wu were more friendly.
Madam Qian also reintroduced Madam Lan. Lan's husband was a Jinshi this year. After being released from prison, he was appointed as the judicial officer of Daming Prefecture. She arrived a few days earlier than Madam Jin.
Lady Lan is three years younger than Lady Jin. She is tall and energetic. Just now, Lady Jin saw that she had been winning at the game of pot tossing. Now she is even more energetic. She even asked Lady Jin, "I wonder what you are doing at home, Madam Jiang?"
"It's nothing more than reading books and doing needlework, just like everyone else." Jinniang said.
"I just want to wait until the plum blossoms bloom here, Sister Qian, so we can have a poetry reading together. How about that?" Madam Lan said with a smile.
Jinniang readily agreed. Although she was still learning, it was still possible for her to participate. There is motivation only when there is pressure, Jinniang thought.
Madam Qian laughed and said, "I'm not good at poetry, but it would be nice if you could help organize a poetry gathering. Then we can invite more people to come and have fun."
"Okay." Of course Jinniang came to show her support. Madam Qian brought her in today, so she had to return the favor. After all, people would become friends if they interacted more often.
The three of them were talking excitedly. Jinniang happened to glance at Mrs. Ji and saw that she looked unhappy, and she didn't understand why.
Madam Ji was of course angry. She was furious. On the way back, she said to her trusted maid Chunxian, "That Qian girl has formed another clique today. She wants people to say that she is popular."
Originally, Madam Ji was Madam Shangguan, so Madam Qian's status was naturally lower than hers, not to mention her family background. Although Madam Ji's father had retired at this time, he was the teacher of the late emperor and had an extraordinary status. Madam Qian's father was just an ordinary official, and she had been married before. The two of them were appointed to Daming Prefecture together, but later on, Madam Qian's popularity was much better than hers. Everyone wanted to play with Madam Qian, and almost everyone would respond to her call.
Chunxian knew that Madam Ji was in trouble both internally and externally, so she felt depressed.
At home, the master favored Ji Xiaoniang and neglected her. So she wanted to develop outside, but was overtaken by Madam Qian, who was inferior to her in every way.
"Actually, we are not without opportunities. Aren't several of our girls studying in the Wei family? Through this relationship, you can also win over the wife of the magistrate." Chun Xian said.
There has to be someone cheering for you; you can't be left alone.
Madam Ji clapped her hands and smiled: "Your idea is not bad."
But when Jinniang came back from outside, she brought over some tea that Ruyan had ordered. Jinniang took a sip and said, "You are better at making tea than Aying. However, we have servants at home, so why should we bother you to make these?"
"Look at what you are saying. You have been taking care of me and praising me all the time. I can't just endure it for nothing." Ruyan became more and more uneasy because she knew that Jinniang didn't let her do anything.
Days like this would not last long. She would feel at ease if she followed Jiang Liujie, worked with her and earned money on her own. Now I don’t know where to go, aren’t I worried?
Jinniang could hear the worry in her words and couldn't help but say, "It's nothing. Can't I afford to feed another mouth at home? It's just that I don't know how to arrange for you."
She had just arrived in Daming Prefecture, and there was no way for her to arrange for Ruyan to study medical coroner right away. Besides, there were so many coroners in Daming Prefecture now, and she could not compare with those with many years of experience.
"Madam, I do have a skill. I can make tea and snacks. If I were to open a teahouse, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I wouldn't dare to open one as I'm single. But now that you're here, I want to open one here." Ruyan said.
Jinniang naturally agreed, but she was a little embarrassed: "If it was in Wu County, I would have agreed, but after coming to Daming Prefecture, I have to buy a house, make furniture, and have two children to study. I am afraid I can't buy a building."
It would be fine if she could sponsor some money, but she wouldn't dare to invest so much to help her do business.
Ruyan said shyly, "In fact, I have been lying to you. When I was diving, I hid Zhang Fei's money in the silver lock on my neck."
That money was originally her bottom line, and she was unwilling to tell anyone. But now she told it out because Jinniang was indeed a good person and would not covet her wealth. Besides, if she wants to do business, she can't do it without someone to protect her. She has to rely on the Jiang family's momentum.
Ah Ying, who was standing by, almost gnashed her teeth when she heard this. This Ruyan was really cunning. Her wife saved her, but she refused to leave and insisted on living with her family. She didn't expect that she would have so much money and eat and drink for free.
Jinniang was relieved. Ruyan had her own money and wanted to make a living, so this was a good idea. So he smiled and said, "Since you have an idea, just go for it. If you want to look for a middleman in a store, I'll tell Chen Xiaolang and ask him to find one for you."
Ruyan was overjoyed to see Jinniang agreed.
Mother Fang, who was standing behind Jinniang, thought it would be better for the girl to leave. Otherwise, if such a smart and clever girl were to stay in the mansion, and if she really got promoted, her lady would have a strong rival.
So after Ruyan left the main room and went back, Fang's mother saw that Aying was angry with Ruyan for not telling the truth, and instead advised her: "Look, your wife is not angry, so why are you angry? It's good for her to leave, but are you going to let her stay for a long time?"
Jinniang heard what they said in the second room. She couldn't blame Fang Mama and Aying. She was the one who found Fang Mama again. She and Fang Mama were in the same boat. If she lost her status, Fang Mama would face the current situation of being driven out due to the death of the Sixth Madam. Therefore, Fang Mama would be on guard against anyone who might shake her position.
As for Aying, she didn't think that far. She was loyal to herself and regarded the Jiang family as her own home and herself as a family member, so she felt that she had been deceived.
In this case, she could only pretend she didn't hear it.
Not to mention how busy Ruyan was, Jinniang also had to prepare a birthday gift for the old lady of the Zhen family. Ten days later, she brought her two children to the Zhen family to celebrate the birthday.
But just as they sat down, someone outside said that Aunt He had arrived. Dou Yuan smiled and said, "Cousin, I'd like to introduce you to a relative. She's my cousin's aunt, and she's also my cousin's aunt, Madam He."
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