Chapter 107 Chapter 107 Two Chapters in One
During the Cold Food Festival, in addition to preparing traditional foods such as fruits, seeds, wheat rice, and porridge, Jinniang also asked Juxiang to braise chicken, goose feet, eggs, etc. in advance.
Because Jinniang had made plans for the Cold Food Festival this time, she first went to Mr. Ku's garden in the south of the city to enjoy the flowers. Mr. Ku loved flowers madly and was very generous. He took the initiative to open the gate of the garden for everyone to go in and enjoy the flowers. The peach blossoms, crabapple and osmanthus flowers in his house are all in bloom very beautifully. Last time the Lan family was going to hold a poetry reading, they bought a few pots of flowers from the Ku family.
After admiring the flowers, we went to the largest restaurant in Daming Prefecture and booked a private room. Then the family had dinner there. After dinner, we went to Wa Zi to see what was going on there before going home.
Ning Ge'er is young and seldom goes out. Jinniang thought he would be excited, but she didn't expect that he was a little afraid of crowds. When he saw a crowded place, he wanted Jinniang to hold him.
"It seems that we will have to go out more often in the future," said Jinniang.
Jiang Xian was puzzled: "Our Ning brother used to be fearless."
Jinniang couldn't help laughing: "Why are you talking like a child? Ning Ge'er is still a child. He is studying at our house now and doesn't go out very often, so naturally he is a little shy."
The group arrived at the Ku Family Garden while chatting and laughing. Before entering, Jinniang specifically told her siblings, "You can only look at the flowers, you can't pick them. Do you hear me?"
Sister Yun nodded immediately: "Mom, don't worry, I will take care of my brother."
"That's good. People have taken such great care of these flowers and generously given them to us to enjoy. We should cherish them even more." Jinniang was very pleased to hear her daughter's words.
She thought the crabapples she saw last time were already stunning, but the azaleas she saw this time were even more beautiful. She had often seen azaleas when she was in Wu County, but she didn't expect that there were also azaleas in Daming Prefecture.
"The cuckoo is crying among the azalea flowers, and the light purple and deep red are beside the stream. The late sun's light searches for the traveler's thoughts, and the mountain road is like a mystery in the morning."
Jinniang has been learning poetry, so when she saw Dujuan, she recited Yang Xingmin's poems.
Jiang Xian said: "I actually like Bai Letian's 'I regret that the azalea flowers are in full bloom, but the spring breeze blows them away and they don't climb them.'"
The couple smiled at each other, and a girl next to them said to the woman who was looking at her, "How come you can't even recite a single poem? It's really shameful."
Hearing this, the young woman next to her said, "Won't you find out when you go back and look through the book?"
"If I had known this, I would have asked my aunt or dad to take me out to play next time." The little girl stomped her feet and ran forward quickly.
After they walked away, Jiang Xian said in disbelief, "A son doesn't dislike his mother's ugliness, and a dog doesn't dislike his family's poverty. How can this happen?"
Jinniang shook her head: "This is nothing strange. There are many kinds of rice to feed many kinds of people." In fact, didn't Jiang Xian's second brother Jiang Fang just dislike his family's shortcomings and go to live with others?
Not all children are born filial. Most of them are selfish.
This incident was just a small episode. After admiring the flowers, they went to Cuiyun Tower for dinner. Because they had made a reservation in advance, they went straight to the private room and sat down, with the sound of stringed instruments playing below.
Sister Yun said, "Mom, it's so noisy."
"There are a lot of people here. We are used to the quietness at home, so we need some noise occasionally." Jinniang said with a smile.
In fact, Jiang Xian also had this feeling. He used to be a frequent socializer. He even felt that he couldn't eat without the sound of stringed instruments. But after Man Man'er got married, he became more fond of quietness. He would read books and think about things at home, and he was always so quiet.
This noisy sound is annoying and I want to run away.
Fortunately, after the meal, they went to the nearby silk shop and Lingmaicui Flower Shop and then went back.
Although Jinniang and her friends had a full day planned, Zhou Si Niang was disappointed because the person she sent to deliver a holiday gift to the He family came back and told her that He Sanlang and Zhou Er Niang had escaped and were wanted by the government.
"How could this happen?" Mrs. Zhou Si couldn't believe it.
Sun Shichen said, "They actually issued an arrest warrant? Isn't Jiang Shushi in Daming Prefecture? Why didn't he help with such a case? How could it have come to this?"
Mrs. Zhou Si pondered and said, "Maybe you don't want to?"
Zhou Er and Jin Niang had a grudge against each other in the past, and now that the positions have been reversed, how could they possibly help you?
Fortunately, Mrs. Zhou Si and Mrs. Zhou Er had an average relationship, and her second sister was too bold to lend money at high interest, so she deserved it. The most important thing right now is our children's education. My husband has been very busy since he took office last year, and this year I can finally arrange for them.
"Have you found their husband?" Mrs. Zhou Si asked her husband.
Sun Shichen couldn't help but say: "I found an old scholar who had given an explanation before to help them open their minds."
"I feel relieved now." She is not the kind of person who favors boys over girls, especially when it comes to her daughter. She hopes that her daughter can become a talented woman. It doesn’t matter whether you get married in the future or not, you must have ambitions, aspirations and desires, and don’t be idle.
Sun Shichen said, "Then prepare the tuition first, fifteen strings of cash a year."
Mrs. Zhou was very happy and went back to her room and said to her daughters, "You must study hard. Who says women are inferior to men? We women are not weaker than men."
The two daughters also became excited: "Yes."
"Those things about the housekeeper are secondary. The main thing is studying. As long as you study well, how can you not understand these things?" Mrs. Zhou Si thought to herself that she was once a concubine's daughter, and although the Zhou family was a family of officials, she did not have much say after all. Now that she has more freedom, she naturally has to educate her children better.
As for Mrs. Zhou Er's affairs, she had long since left them in Java and they had nothing to do with her.
But after the Cold Food Festival, the eldest daughter of the Wei family got engaged, and Quanfu invited Jinniang again. Perhaps it was because the clothes she gave to Mudan last time were good, Jinniang tried a little and Madam Wei agreed directly.
Jinniang herself didn't expect this, and she said to Jiang Xian, "I originally thought that Madam Wei would invite the wives of high-ranking officials, but I never thought that I would be asked to do it just because I casually hinted at it."
"My lady, you are too self-deprecating. You are the most blessed person now. Even Judge Ji told me that she would like to ask you to be the blessed person for her eldest daughter in the future." Jiang Xian said with a smile.
Speaking of the Ji family, Jinniang whispered, "Mrs. Ji seems to have a problem with me. Because she and Madam Qian are competing, and I support Madam Qian, not her."
Jiang Xian still doesn’t know the relationship between these ladies? He was a little curious: "Why is this?"
"You see Madam Qian eats meat and we drink soup with her, sitting down and drinking the soup happily. But when Madam Ji eats meat, we have to kneel down and drink the soup. Would you rather sit down or kneel down?" Jinniang asked.
Jiang Xian suddenly realized: "So that's it."
However, Jinniang also said, "In fact, her life is not easy either. Judge Ji favors his concubine over his wife. His eldest daughter is the daughter of his favorite concubine. Miss Ji is only eleven or twelve years old this year. She has high standards and I heard that she is very interested in Wei Qilang. But you also know that the Wei family is of high status. I am afraid they think that the princess is not worthy of him."
Jiang Xian thought that his wife really had no intention of currying favor with the rich and powerful. Even though she had frequent contacts with the Wei family, she was always very clear-headed and knew that she was not like others who always thought that miracles would fall on them.
But he asked again: "Madam, don't you like Wei Qilang very much too?"
"Are you trying to explain why I don't want Wei Qillang to be my son-in-law? First, the child is still young, and he may not be a good person when he grows up. Second, it is a good thing to be ambitious, but if the ambition is too inflated, it is easy to forget the limitations of reality and never be able to be down-to-earth." Jinniang herself is such a person, so she just plays the cards she can, which is best.
The family that Miss Wei was engaged to was very prominent, and the gifts that Jinniang received were also very generous, including six rolls of Sichuan brocade, two pieces of silk, two pieces of gold gauze, two loads of tea cakes, a box of pepper, a box of scented tea, six sheepskins, two lotus mats, two sets of combing sets for all your wishes, and two hundred taels of silver.
Aying registered it immediately and sent the items to the warehouse. She thought that the embroidered image of Guanyin and the clothes embroidered with peonies that her wife gave her last time had played a role.
Of course, being a lucky person doesn’t happen every day. It’s good enough to get rich once a year. This year I was lucky and became a lucky person twice.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Jinniang allocated the monthly allowance for Aying to distribute while she was talking to Fang Mama: "Madam Qian said that Madam Wang was going to climb the mountain and wanted us to accompany her. Mom, you don't have to go that day. Just rest at home."
Mother Fang was also amazed: "That old lady Wang is really healthy. She can climb mountains even an old lady like me who works hard every day can't."
Jinniang also felt that the Wang family was upside down. Old Mrs. Wang was in excellent health, full of energy every day and eating three bowls of rice a day. However, Mrs. Wu ate little, had many things to worry about, and was very weak.
A few days later, when the weather was fine, Jinniang, who did not bind her feet, climbed the mountain and came back unwilling to move. Jiang Xian rubbed her feet: "Are you still twisting your feet now?"
"Well, a little bit. That old lady was really fast walker. I was fine at first, but in the end I felt like my legs weighed a thousand pounds and I couldn't even lift them." Jinniang shook her head. She just felt tired.
Jiang Xian said: "Then you can rest at home tomorrow."
"I will go to visit Madam Wu tomorrow. She looked very pale today and almost fainted. In fact, if it were me, I would definitely not climb up. But she is too filial and insists on accompanying her mother-in-law to climb up, always taking care of her." Jinniang didn't know what she was trying to do. Filial piety is good, but she also has to take care of her own health.
After the couple talked for a while, Jinniang went to bed. She lay there to rest and was too lazy to get up for dinner.
So when she got up the next morning, her legs were still very sore. She went to pay her respects to Old Madam Wang first, and then said, "Yesterday, we saw that Madam Wu looked very pale, and we were all very worried, so we all came to visit her."
Old Lady Wang also had a lot of complaints. Her daughter-in-law was indeed good, but too good. She was perfect in everything and very thoughtful, and her family was also very helpful. Just like this time when recommending talented people, her husband and son both recommended Wu’s younger brother, and no one cared about her family?
Yesterday I was just climbing a mountain with my mother-in-law. If you were not feeling well and said you couldn’t climb, no one would say anything to you, right? But he insisted on climbing, which showed his filial piety.
"I told her not to go a long time ago. Her health is not good for nine out of ten days. I was right." said Old Lady Wang.
Jinniang and Qianniang looked at each other in confusion. It was not a good idea to say this.
Madam Qian was the one who reacted quickly and said immediately: "When the mother-in-law is considerate, the daughter-in-law will be more filial. This is something that many families wish for."
Only then did they understand the conversation. The two of them went to visit Mrs. Wu together. Mrs. Wu was already lying in bed but wanted to get up. Jinniang hurriedly stopped him: "Don't get up. We have to get you up to visit you. Wouldn't it be a waste of time?"
Wu coughed twice and said, "My body is useless after all."
"Why are you doing this?" Jinniang said this and saw Madam Qian giving her a look. She realized that she had said the wrong thing and changed the subject to something else before coming out.
When they got outside, Madam Qian invited Jinniang to her home. Her daughter-in-law, Grandma Dong, served tea. Madam Qian sent her away and said to Jinniang, "You are young and enthusiastic, but you should not get involved in the lawsuit between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law."
Jinniang said hurriedly: "I didn't interfere. I would like to ask my sister, what should I do?"
Madam Qian said, "Look at that mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. One is jealous of her daughter-in-law, and the other is bullying the strong."
After pondering over these words, Jinniang understood a little, and she asked, "Why is this necessary?"
"Old Lady Wang took advantage of the fact that Magistrate Wang had a strange disease and married him to get him married. She was originally planning to be a concubine, but she was lucky enough to get pregnant with a son after Magistrate Wang passed the imperial examination. The elders of the Wang family then made her his legal wife, but she was never favored. So she had a very subtle feeling towards Madam Wu. It cannot be said that she treated her daughter-in-law harshly, but it was always not good. It just so happened that if Madam Wu followed her husband to Xiangzhou, it would be fine, but she was just seeking fame. I think she originally wanted her own reputation and wanted to resolve the relationship with her mother-in-law, but the better she did, the worse she looked. So when Old Lady Wang saw that she did better, she felt uncomfortable." Madam Qian explained.
Jinniang hurriedly thanked Madam Qian: "So there is such a connection. Thank you for telling me."
If they are not close to you, who would have told you so clearly?
Madam Qian said, "In the future, we should stay out of the trouble and stay out of taking sides, otherwise we will end up obeying our aunt and disobeying our sister-in-law."
Jinniang nodded.
However, unlike Jinniang and the others, Ji Tongpan's wife gradually gained favor with Old Lady Wang, and even took her with her when she went to Guangyun Temple.
Mrs. Ji was of course also very proud of herself. Although she had a bad relationship with Madam Qian and others, and was not as close to the Wei family as Wei Jinniang who later became her partner, she had finally found her own shortcut.
After all, Madam Wang is the wife of the Duke of Daming Prefecture, and her son is an official in Xiangzhou. What she says is much more effective than what Madam Qian says. Old Lady Wang also felt a sense of sympathy for Lady Ji, as she was also unfavored and had a favored concubine at home. Lady Ji's eldest son was also the daughter-in-law of a prominent background as judged by Ji Tong. Even her son only sided with his daughter-in-law. They seemed to be the mistresses, but they were just castles in the air.
It is also said that Mrs. Wu knew that her mother-in-law didn't like her, so she just stayed at home to recuperate, and it happened to rain. She was unwilling to ask her concubine, who had given birth to a child, to please him. She only thought that Guantao County was closest to Guangyun Temple, so she asked her father-in-law to write a letter to Guantao County, asking them to pay attention. After receiving a letter from the prefect, Sun Shichen sent more people and asked Zhou Si's wife to go over and accompany him.
This companionship was not a big deal, but it helped Mrs. Zhou Si win the favor of Old Lady Wang.
While waiting for the Dragon Boat Festival, Jinniang saw Mrs. Zhou Si at Old Lady Wang's place, and Mrs. Wu introduced her: "Madam Jiang, this is the wife of Magistrate Sun of Guantao County."
Jinniang greeted with a smile, and Zhou Siniang immediately returned the greeting.
The two of them knew each other before, but their relationship was average and they didn't want to recognize each other. The two of them sat down in their respective seats. Jinniang was now the wife of the prefectural magistrate, and her position was above Madam Zhou Si. She and Madam Qian and Madam Lan were in the same room, so no matter who spoke, there would be people to support them, which made the atmosphere seem quite lively.
It is difficult for Madam Zhou to interrupt in such occasions. She is now a member of the Little Karami family. Looking at the situation, although Madam Ji is the first one under the prefect's wife, it seems that no one supports her. Madam Qian was popular, and next was Madam Jin. Old Madam Wang asked, "I heard you all went to the Wei family to see the peonies a few days ago?"
Jinniang smiled and said, "Yes, my sister-in-law asked me why I didn't invite you over. I said you went to worship the Buddha, and my sister-in-law didn't blame me."
Sister-in-law? Mrs. Zhou Si thought that this Jin Niang couldn't be a real or fake daughter.
That's right. Otherwise, how could Jiang Xian, who is so smart, casually marry a girl who was born a maid? This is not in line with common sense.
Listen to what Madam Wang said: "The peony is a symbol of wealth and nobility, not everyone can have it. Your sister-in-law is the same, she was born with a good fate."
Jinniang replied with a smile. After she visited the Wei family to see the peonies, she specially brought back a few and prepared to embroider a quilt cover with peonies and ribbon birds, which she would give to Miss Wei as a make-up addition in the future.
At this moment, the dragon boat began to row, and the attention of Jinniang and others was attracted.
The river was surging, the sleeves were fluttering, and the dragon boat was moving forward quickly.
When the winner was decided, Yun Jie'er and the daughters of the Wang and Ji families came over holding hands. Just now, the group of young ladies were having a lot of fun playing ball and pot.
At this time, Yun Jie'er's face was flushed, Jin Niang hurriedly wiped her sweat and said, "Are you hungry? Here are some snacks."
"I'm hungry, but I'll only eat one piece." Sister Yun said with a smile.
Jinniang handed a piece of chestnut cake to her daughter, and then heard Lan ask, "Sister Wei, has Sister Yun started to learn polo?"
"It's started. Her father is helping her choose a horse." Jinniang herself had never learned these things, but she hoped that her daughter's life would be more colorful.
Buying a horse costs money. The Wei family has a special horse riding instructor to teach, and Jinniang and the others have to pay extra money. But being able to enter the Wei family and receive such teaching, Jinniang felt that money was not a problem.
While Jinniang was talking, Madam Wu was also talking to Madam Zhou Si. She had spies around Old Madam Wang, so she naturally knew what happened at Guangyun Temple. That is, Madam Ji was trying to consolidate her position by stepping on herself or taking advantage of the conflicts between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, but Madam Sun kept trying to mediate, so naturally she also gave her some praise.
When Madam Zhou was about to leave, Madam Wu gave her two pieces of satin.
For some reason, Mrs. Zhou Si also wanted to send her child to Daming Prefecture, preferably to Wei’s Girls’ School. She could hear that what was learned in a real girls’ school was completely different from that in a private school.
But the Wei family is a family of third-rank officials. Without an introduction, I'm afraid I won't be able to go there and talk to them in person. It's really hopeless. Besides, if her daughters were to come to Daming Prefecture, she would be worried about both sides, so she might as well focus on studying first.
She would make her request after she got familiar with the Wang family.
However, Madam Wu smiled and said, "It's the Qixi Daughter's Day, and the girls in our mansion are all praying for wisdom together. You might as well bring your children here as well."
"Okay." Mrs. Zhou Si breathed a sigh of relief.
He also said that when Jinniang took the child into the carriage, he helped her wipe the sweat off her back with a towel: "After you go back, sit for a while before taking a bath, otherwise you will easily catch a cold."
Sister Yun said, "Mother, you spent so much money on your daughter, she will definitely study hard."
"You don't have to push yourself too hard. Just do your best in everything. It's impossible for a person to be proficient in everything, right?" Jinniang would also tell them about the money she spent on her children. She didn't want to raise her children to be ignorant of the sufferings of the world.
When the mother and daughter returned home, they saw a woman in a scarlet shirt and white pleated skirt standing at the door opposite. After a while, Mrs. Zhen's mother came out to greet her.
It was not until the next day that Jinniang found out that the woman was Miss Yang, Zhen Erlang's white moonlight. She was actually Mrs. Zhen's cousin, otherwise she would not have been childhood sweethearts with Zhen Erlang. It is said that her father took her stepmother with him to take up his post, and Mrs. Zhen saw that her stepmother was not a virtuous person, so she took her in.
Dou Yuan was not worried: "She is also a rich lady, she will definitely not be a mistress. She is not young anymore, she will get married in the future, why should I panic?"
"It's good that you know it." Jinniang knew that Dou Yuan grew up in this familiar environment. She actually had her own thoughts in her heart, so she didn't say much.
"Cousin, I will never be like my mother." Dou Yuan said and stood up.
Only after she left did Jinniang shake her head.
Ah Ying didn't understand: "Madam, this Dou family lady seems to say she doesn't care, but in fact she is very alert."
"How can you allow someone to sleep soundly beside your bed? Madam Zhen must have underestimated her cousin Dou. She totally disregarded the feelings of her daughter-in-law and brought her son's ex-girlfriend into the house, thinking that nothing would happen. But I'm afraid there will be more trouble in the future," said Jinniang.
Otherwise, some people say that it is better to be still than to move? Just like those restaurants in Daming Prefecture, they all have strong official and business backgrounds, and the business environment is not as good as that in Jiangnan, so she simply did not do business here.
In the blink of an eye, it was the Chinese Valentine's Day. It was said that the Qiqiao Festival, which was supposed to be hosted by Mrs. Wu, was instead hosted by Mrs. Ji.
This fight between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law actually benefited Mrs. Ji, who was quite complacent, like a serf who had been liberated and was singing his praises. You have to know that although there were people coming to her banquets on weekdays, they were always deserted and not as lively as those held by Madam Qian. Now that she was chosen by the wife of the prefect, she naturally tried her best.
She then pulled her own daughter aside and said, "Mother has already set up the stage for you, you must make a good show of yourself."
Her daughter, Miss Ji San, said, "Mother, I am not good at these needlework. My second sister usually does it better than me, and Jiang Yun from the girls' school is also outstanding. How can I compare with them?"
Mrs. Ji poked her daughter's head, expressing her disapproval. The mother of the young lady from the Jiang family is an expert at climbing up the social ladder. She has hooked up with the Wei family after only a few days since she arrived. I'm afraid she is also here for Wei Qilang? She married a man of lower status and had to endure the humiliation. She hoped her daughter could marry into a wealthy family. Wei Qilang was the son-in-law she had chosen, so naturally she couldn't let anyone get in the way. No one could do that, right?
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