Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Two Chapters in One
Before closing the door, Jinniang had secretly told Madam Wei and Dou Yuan that such things should not be publicized everywhere, otherwise it would create panic. If they don't come, it will only delay us for one more month.
But when Mrs. Wei learned the news, she immediately took her son Wei Qilang to Luoyang, the Western Capital, to see the peonies. People did not suspect her, because Mrs. Wei was really crazy about Peony and always sent express horses to deliver it.
As for Madam Qian, Mrs. Lan and others, their husbands are all in the government, so there is no need for her to remind them. They are probably more informed.
This month, Jinniang claimed to be recuperating from illness, but she was still not idle. She was still embroidering. She was now embroidering a statue of Guanyin on a lotus platform. The previous two paintings had been given away, so she had to calm down and focus on embroidering. It was just that the fire in the brazier was too strong, which caused me to get inflamed and had lumps on my scalp and mouth. She quickly asked someone to make chrysanthemum tea and dandelion tea. Ning Ge'er thought they were some good things and asked to drink them too.
"Mom, I want to go to a girls' school." Sister Yun felt a little bored.
Jinniang said without even raising her head, "You cut clothes for me during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, but you played all day afterwards. Now embroider a shoe for me and make a shirt for your brother."
"Okay." Sister Yun held her chin up.
The mother and daughter seemed to have returned to their normal days, drinking tea and doing needlework together, with Ning Ge'er practicing calligraphy beside them.
Jinniang would also go to the second gate to ask questions about the layout of the mansion, and Cao Da hurriedly said, "Don't worry, madam, the master has already told us."
"Yeah." Although Jinniang felt that Jiang Xian had made arrangements, she couldn't just do nothing. She had to prepare some weapons for self-defense.
But Jiang Xian just smiled after seeing this: "Silly lady, you are just a bunch of rabble, I am just afraid that it will affect you. Don't be too scared, if you want to make trouble, go to the government office."
Jinniang breathed a sigh of relief: "I know."
Jinniang and the others rested at home and managed to avoid this disaster, but what was coming still came. Fortunately, Jiang Xian and others were on high alert. They disguised themselves and came in to cause a scene, but no harm was done and the criminal was caught.
Only the wall of the government office was slightly damaged, and Wang Futai was quite responsible, allocating some money from the government treasury to repair it. He was promoted to Qinfeng Jinglüe Pacifier for his meritorious service in suppressing bandits, and Mrs. Wang soon followed him to take up the post.
Mrs. Zhou was slow to realize what was happening. She had been accompanying Madam Wang to have a vegetarian meal at Guangyun Temple and had not expected such a thing to happen.
Even the eldest daughter, who was usually the most sensible, asked, "Mother, why are you trying so hard to please that old lady Wang and leaving your daughters behind?"
Madam Zhou Si thought that this certainly came from the books she had read. Although Wang Futai is only a prefect now, he is an old man with great ambitions and in the end he even became a great eunuch. Besides, it was Old Madam Wang who supported her, and the job she took on for Quanfu this time was introduced by her.
But with the departure of Old Lady Wang, her backer was also gone, and all her work was in vain. Her daughters also had many complaints about her as a mother.
Mrs. Ji was not an easy person to get along with, and there was no need for her to come over often. It was just that it was indeed a bit dangerous for the two girls to live alone, but the money had been paid, so she had no choice but to come over in person to accompany the girls in their studies.
Everything seemed to have returned to normal. Even before the Dragon Boat Festival, Mrs. Wei and her son came back and gave Jinniang two pots of peonies. Yunjie'er and Ning'er both resumed their studies, and Jinniang also started to move around.
Unexpectedly, a scandal happened in the Zhen family next door. Dou Yuan and Jin Niang said, "Miss Yang was seen by Luan Goucai by chance once. He found out that Miss Yang's father was just a chief clerk and was an official thousands of miles away. He had some ideas and asked my eldest sister-in-law to help him propose marriage and make him his second wife. My eldest sister-in-law's family only has this younger brother, and she said that the mother-in-law would definitely not object."
"That Luan guy didn't know what was happening, he even bribed the maid next to Miss Yang. Fortunately I found out and gave her an embroidered bag of erotic art."
Jinniang was shocked. She knew that Luan, the sister-in-law next door, was very respected by the Zhen family because of her chastity. So, she asked, "What should we do? Should your mother-in-law send Uncle Luan away, or send Miss Yang away?"
Dou Yuan held her forehead with her hand: "My mother-in-law wants me to handle it."
Jinniang sneered: "That's weird. She is the elder and it's her turn to make the decision. Why did she ask you to come? You must not agree to this."
Originally, Mrs. Zhen may have seen that Dou Yuan was a good housekeeper, and later had the help of relatives, her arrogance was on the rise, so she brought Miss Yang in to check and balance her. Of course, it is also possible that she just sympathized with her cousin niece. Now that something has happened, he actually asked Dou Yuan to solve it.
Dou Yuan nodded: "So, I came to my cousin's place to get some peace and quiet."
"Miss Yang has such a miserable fate, but she is almost twenty years old. If she doesn't want to get married, she can't always live in someone else's house. If she still wants to get married, it would be Madam Zhen's fault." Jinniang shook her head.
Dou Yuan said, "That's right. Last time I asked if I wanted to find a matchmaker, they all treated me like an enemy."
Jinniang said, "Then Luan Da should also be driven away, otherwise, if he treats Miss Yang like this now, you will be spared in the future. As for Miss Yang, I am afraid that in order to appease your sister-in-law, she will also leave."
This is why Jinniang thinks that women can get married or not, but they must rely on themselves. If they cannot survive on their own, it will be difficult to survive by relying on others.
Dou Yuan clapped her hands: "My cousin's wife is absolutely right."
"Come and have a cup of tea. When the weather is fine tomorrow, bring Sister Luo over to play with you." Jinniang said with a smile.
Dou Yuan nodded and sat for a while before getting up and going home. When she entered the second door and saw Miss Yang, she curled her lips. She clearly knew that Zhen Erlang was already married, but she still said, "My thoughts of you are like the full moon, which loses its brightness every night."
It just so happened that Luan Da was a gambler, and when she just hinted that Yang's dowry was generous, Luan Da was determined to marry her.
But it would be fine if Yang moved out at this time. She had given her a chance, but she was still ignorant of the consequences and continued to live there. Even when she hinted at it, she didn't respond. No wonder she exposed it. Now these two people with bad behavior have to get out of here. Even if Zhen Erlang knew about this in the future, he would be disgusted that she was favored by a man like Luan Da, because she knew men's psychology too well.
However, she couldn't be too explicit in front of her cousin's wife. Although her cousin's wife was smart, she was also good with her hands. Like Ruyan before, if it were her, she might not even let her in. That would be like inviting a wolf into the house.
The Zhen family dealt with the matter quickly. Mrs. Luan gave the brother a sum of money and let him move out. As for Miss Yang, Mrs. Zhen was afraid that Mrs. Luan would feel unfair, so she immediately arranged a marriage for her and married her to a wealthy family in Qingping County as a second wife.
It's not that Madam Zhen deliberately didn't help her find a good one. Firstly, her father didn't pass the imperial examination until he was over 40 years old, and didn't take up an official position until he was nearly 50 years old. Secondly, her family could only gather ten boxes of dowry, and Madam Zhen could only send a few of those, no more. Besides, Luan Da's incident happened, and it would be bad for her reputation if people found out about it.
It was half a month later that Jinniang heard the news. She was putting the high-quality pieces into order. Those of slightly inferior quality could be given away as gifts. She also refurbished the duller pieces of jewelry. If there were any that were suitable for Yunjie to wear, she asked her daughter to register them.
"You can not keep the keys and let the servants help you, but you have to know exactly what you own, okay? This pair of gold hairpins is enough for a family in the market to live on for a year. You must be careful and take good care of your finances." Jinniang said.
Sister Yun nodded: "My daughter knows."
She also knew how much a bushel of rice cost, how much commercial tax one had to pay to open a shop, when to start preparing for the New Year, and how to read the account books. But she would not discuss these with her sisters at school. Her mother told her to speak the language according to the situation. At school, they could talk about poetry, songs, romance, etc. But at home she had to keep her own account in her mind.
Jinniang asked about their school affairs again: "I heard that Miss Ji is no longer coming?"
"Yes, she is engaged, so it is not easy for her to come out. The second and third Miss Ji come to study every day, but they are just idling around. I caught up easily after not going to school for a month." Sister Yun said with a smile.
Jinniang touched her daughter's head and said, "That's because you have good study habits. Although you don't go to school, you study and review at home."
This is what we are taught since childhood. We must concentrate on completing our homework and reviewing it before we can play.
Otherwise you'll procrastinate for a long time and not get any homework done.
However, Sister Yun said: "The eldest sister of the Sun family is very hardworking, much more hardworking than the sisters of the Ji family. We often say that she is going to take the imperial examination to become the top scholar."
"That's great. It's just right for you girls to study hard and compete with each other." Jinniang has always felt that healthy competition is good.
Sister Yun shook her head: "But she doesn't play polo, and doesn't ride horses much. At first, she rode my and Ji Erniang's horses, but now she doesn't participate at all."
Jinniang didn't understand: "Why is this?"
"Because she fell last time, she doesn't want to ride a horse." Sister Yun spread her hands.
Jinniang herself doesn't know how to play polo, but that's because she really doesn't have the conditions to do so, after all, she has never learned it before. It is not easy for her to ride a donkey, learn to play chuiwan, touhu and backgammon at her age. So, when her daughter learned to ride a horse, she was afraid of falling at first, so Jinniang asked Jiang Xian to spend a few days teaching her how to ride a horse first and then play polo. After all, the time given to them to learn in school was limited.
But if you just don't learn it, it will be difficult to integrate into Bian Jing in the future.
But these were not her concerns, because Madam Qian was also going to be transferred, and her husband was being transferred to Caizhou as the magistrate. Madam Qian was someone she had always had a good relationship with during the nearly two years she had been here, but she didn't expect that she would also leave.
Jinniang sent Cheng Yi over and saw the Qian family packing their luggage. She was very reluctant to leave: "Sister Qian took me with me when I came to Daming Mansion. Now that you are leaving, I don't know where to go to have fun."
Madam Qian said in a carefree manner: "After traveling through thousands of mountains and rivers, we will always meet again. Daming Prefecture is a prosperous place with abundant resources and a thriving people. You still have one year left here, and it will pass in the blink of an eye."
"That's right. Take care, Sister Qian." Jinniang held her hand and left only after seeing that she was busy.
After Jinniang left, Madam Qian looked at the gift money she had sent. It turned out to be quite generous, including thirty strings of silver, two pieces of Zhejiang silk, six strips of bacon, and six tea cakes.
She looked at the door and smiled with relief.
After seeing off Madam Qian, it was also Jinniang's 31st birthday. She felt a little strange when she woke up in the morning. So this is what it feels like after turning 30. Except for some physical changes, nothing seems to have changed.
For example, I can’t stay up late now, but I used to be able to stay up all night and still be quite energetic during the day. Now I stay up late and my whole body aches during the day, and sometimes I even feel like vomiting. Another thing is that in the past, if I ate less, I would lose weight the next day. Now, if I eat too much, it is difficult to lose weight. She had tried to lose weight before, but after losing weight, there were still thin fat cracks on her chest and legs. She didn't want to gain and lose weight again.
Not to mention her, even Jiang Xian is prone to gaining weight at his age. During the Chinese New Year, Jiang Xian's waist became thicker, and the robe Jinniang made for him was a bit tight on his body. He quickly reduced his diet, and now the couple agreed to indulge themselves only once a month.
"Madam, this is a gift for you." Jiang Xian brought over a long box.
Jinniang took it and opened it. Inside was a golden hairpin with lotus patterns decorated on the foot and six trembling daffodils on the head. She smiled and said, "It's very beautiful." This one weighs four taels, and it must have cost more than twenty taels of silver.
"I bought this for you with my writing fee." Jiang Xian quickly added.
Seeing how frightened he was, Jinniang said hurriedly, "If you don't explain, I won't ask you. Anyway, thank you very much."
Jiang Xian then said, "Madam, let me help you put it on."
The couple put on a wedding dress and the servants also gave gifts. Aying gave two gilded handkerchiefs, Xiqiu gave six strands of woolen thread and six strands of silk thread, Fang's mother gave two boxes of longevity peaches and six plates of fruit, and Qingrong and Jiaoxing also gave needlework, shoe uppers, and so on.
Lian Jieer and Ning Ge'er also received gifts. Jieer Yun gave incense sticks that she had made herself, while Ning Ge'er gave a copy of his own poem "Song of the Wandering Son".
Jinniang added a few more dishes in the evening, and her 31st birthday passed just like that.
The next day, Yunjie'er and the other girls' school were on break, and the Zhen family invited all the ladies in the mansion to play polo. The girls in the Wei family girls' school all received a note, and Jinniang sent her daughter over.
Madam Ji also went to invite Mrs. Zhou Si, saying that they were going to tell everyone about it. However, Mrs. Zhou Si did not know about this and went back to ask her eldest daughter, "Why didn't you tell me about the polo club?"
Miss Sun was always terrified when she mentioned polo: "When we went there, everyone knew how to play except us, and I didn't have a horse. I finally borrowed the horses of Miss Jiang and Miss Ji, but they fell off, so my daughter didn't want to ride anymore."
"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Mrs. Zhou Si was very upset.
Miss Sun Er interrupted: "You were still in Guantao at that time, how did you know all this?"
The Sun family had never split up. When the couple worked as the chief clerk in Fuyang County, they had just taken office and listened to their elders. They did not dare to make any mistakes, so money was naturally tight. Now that Old Madam Wang has left, people have forgotten her. Without Old Madam Wang's direct appointment, she cannot be a happy person. Fortunately, officials in Guantao County all secretly received shares from businessmen, and it was said that this was a customary practice. As a result, the couple had more money in their hands.
In this way, my daughter was neglected.
"If you don't want to play polo, you can always go and watch. All the rich girls in Beijing know how to play it." Mrs. Zhou Si hoped that her daughter could master this. She knew that her husband also agreed to let her daughter learn these things, not because her husband was so open-minded, but because he wanted his daughter to marry into a good family. She took advantage of this and tried to educate her daughter.
Miss Sun has always been sensible, so she agreed.
All the little girls who could go on stage had gone, and the adults like Jinniang sat under the pavilion, drinking. Now that Madam Qian is gone, Mrs. Ji is very happy, but Jinniang and others who were on good terms with Madam Qian have become thorns in her eyes and bones in her heart.
Fortunately, Jinniang was on good terms with the Zhen and Wei families, so she didn't dare to go too far.
Then Madam Zhen said, "I heard that Madam Wu's uncle was promoted to the position of Privy Council Secretary, which is the position in charge of promotions."
Madam Ji smiled and said, "Really? I didn't expect that."
Jinniang felt sad that she realized it so late. Old Madam Wang just walked away, but what about you people who followed her? If Madam Wu says a few words in front of her uncle in the future, it will be difficult for her to get promoted.
Unless you are exceptionally outstanding, why would anyone choose you if their resumes are similar? In this way, she remembered what Madam Qian said, that is, don't interfere in other people's family affairs. Even when it comes to Dou Yuan, she won't say too much unless it is necessary.
Madam Zhou was sitting in the back row and didn't take it seriously. Madam Wu's uncle was a high-ranking official, so how could he judge the selection of officials based on the affairs between his concubines?
After the first polo match, the girls all came over. Jinniang asked the maid to serve tea to Yunjieer and said, "Are you hot? If you are, take a rest."
"It's a bit hot. My daughter is only good at the basics. Sister Wei and second sister Ji are the real experts." Sister Yun felt better after drinking a large glass of water.
Although Junjie was not very good at polo, she was very good at chuijing and even won a prize, which was a silver hairpin in the shape of a small green bird. Jinniang helped her daughter keep it.
Seeing the spirited Yun Jie'er, Mrs. Zhou Si made up her mind. However, after the polo match, Mrs. Zhou Si specially brought a lot of gifts to visit Mrs. Shen, hoping that they could take care of her daughter. She also bought two horses. Half of the 200 taels of dry dividend money she had just received was gone in an instant.
Her family was only a county magistrate, and Guantao was not rich, so she took the 200 taels of silver a year as a share for fear of being discovered. I thought of Jinniang who was sitting in front of the polo club. She was wearing a crystal crown on her head, a golden daffodil hairpin on her back, and a pair of golden tangerine bracelets on her hands. I wondered how she could be so brave. He dares to be greedy for everything.
It is also said that after Jinniang came back from the polo club, she continued to embroider the Lotus Platform Guanyin. She was almost finished. By July, the Guanyin statue was completed, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
It just so happened that a new prefect had taken office, but this time the person who came was an old acquaintance, Han Xiao, who served as the prefect of Daming Prefecture in addition to being the secretary of the Secretariat. This person was Shangguan and an acquaintance, so Jinniang naturally had to prepare a generous gift.
Ah Ying took a look at the gift list, which included a lotus mat, six tea cakes, two pieces of light gauze, six hand towels, a pig's trotter, and two jars of tangerine wine. She sent Liu Dou'er to deliver it.
After Jiang Xianzhong became the head of Kaifeng Prefecture, Madam Liu has been in contact with Jinniang, but she still doesn't know what happened to their previous friendship? You can't assume that someone is good just because they are acquaintances.
At night, Jinniang asked, "You and Han Zhongshu used to be good friends. What do you think of him as an official?"
"Look, he has been promoted to the position of Zhongshu Sheren and the magistrate of Daming Prefecture at this age, which means he must be a good person to be an official. We grew up together. I used to think that he was not as talented as Zhou Erge, and his personality was not as strong as Zhou Erge's. Even now, I don't think he has made any achievements or ideas, but he was promoted the fastest." Jiang Xian didn't know either.
Jinniang nodded: "In any case, we don't need to ask him for help. As long as he writes your evaluation truthfully, there is nothing to ask for help. It's just..."
Jiang Xian didn't understand: "Just what..."
"I mean, you were friends before, but now you are superiors and subordinates. You should be as respectful as possible to your superior." Jinniang also reminded Jiang Xian that there are few friends in officialdom. They used to get along like brothers, but not now.
His wife was naturally speaking for his own good, Jiang Xian sighed.
Jinniang smiled and said, "This is actually a good thing. You know Han Zhongshu, at least. If someone we don't know comes, it would be even worse."
She tried her best to comfort her husband until they both fell asleep.
The next day, when Jiang Xian woke up, he saw Jinniang rubbing her ears and said with a smile, "Madam, you almost told me about my ears yesterday, why didn't you talk to me when you woke up today?"
Jinniang glanced at him and said faintly, "My eyes are just open, but I am actually asleep."
Jiang Xian burst into laughter and wanted to kiss her. Jinniang covered her mouth and said, "I haven't washed up yet."
I don’t know if it’s because they don’t have to take care of the children in recent years and their relationship has been getting better and better, but they often behave in some particularly childish ways.
It is also said that although Madam Liu is young, she is originally the daughter of an official and comes from a distinguished family. She is the daughter of Prime Minister Liu Ji and the niece of Prime Minister Zhao Wen, and she is well versed in the ways of officialdom.
In order to maintain fairness to his superior, he secretly sent someone to give Jinniang a portion of Bian Jing silk flowers and local products, but they did not meet in public.
After a month, they announced that the house was completed and invited the wives of officials from the government office to come over for a drink.
The house they rented was the one where Madam Qian once lived. It had been well maintained to begin with, and now a rooftop was added in front, with a few trees planted. The green branches and leaves made it look even more lush and green.
Madam Liu was very friendly when she saw Jinniang: "I wanted to invite you here earlier, but the house has been rented and needs to be renovated, so it's too late. We haven't seen each other for five or six years, and you haven't changed at all, but I have gained a lot of weight."
"Look at what you said. I think your slim waist is the same as before. When the prince left, I was wondering who the court would send. I didn't expect it to be you. I feel much more at ease." Jinniang also smiled and took her arm and went in.
Madam Liu had always been in Beijing. If she hadn't been in the nearby Daming Prefecture, she wouldn't have come along.
Jinniang introduced the basic situation to her. After a while, Madam Ji, the wife of the magistrate of Daming County, and the wife of the chief clerk also came over. It was normal for them to have tea and chat.
However, the next time Madam Liu asked everyone to go to the Tong Garden to enjoy the flowers, and to prepare their own ingredients and cook a special dish...
Jinniang wiped the sweat off her forehead. She doesn’t know how to cook.
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