Chapter 140 Chapter 140 Two Chapters in One
"Aunt, this is the Yuling ointment for you. It is used to invigorate the qi and calm the mind, especially it is very good for sleep. This is snow frog, it is the best for fatigue, palpitations and insomnia." Wei Qilang had lived in Jinniang's house for several months. He knew that Jinniang had an insomnia problem and was prone to anxiety, so he brought all these.
Jinniang smiled and said, "You are thoughtful. This is also an old problem of mine."
In fact, she is much healthier now than before. I remember that at that time, she had just lost weight, her immunity was very low, and she was prone to allergies.
So when she was pregnant with Sister Yun, even she herself was very surprised.
Wei Qillang left on her birthday last year and came back in May this year. In almost a year, he has grown very tall and has turned from a teenager into a young man.
It was hard for him to be so thoughtful and bring a lot of gifts. Not to mention Jinniang and Jiang Xian, even the youngest Dingge had a set of top-quality four treasures of the study.
Jinniang smiled and said, "We are about to have dinner, you can stay and have some, this is made by your sister herself."
Wei Qilang agreed.
Jinniang asked him how his trip was and showed her concern for him. Wei Qilang could certainly feel his mother-in-law's care for him. While the two were talking, Yun Jie'er brought people to serve the dishes, and Wei Qilang also saw his fiancée.
Perhaps at home, she wears a rouge-red bodice and a willow-green jacket with pink peaches embroidered on the collar, a row of pearl hairpins in her shiny black hair, and teardrop-shaped white jade earrings on her ears.
The whole person seemed like a flower bud on a branch that had grown into a flower bud.
"Sister Yun, you go down first." Jinniang just wanted them to meet each other. It would not be good if they were arranged in the same place.
Sister Yun was very calm and said, "Yes." Today happened to be the day when Sister Yun learned to cook a few dishes, including crab stuffed with orange, stir-fried beef with spicy vegetables, pumpkin with salted egg yolk, and spare ribs with salted egg yolk. In addition, there are two seasonal vegetables and a winter melon soup.
Jinniang pointed out all the dishes made by Yunjie'er to Wei Qilang, and Wei Qilang tasted them all.
“Is it delicious?”
Wei Qilang hurriedly said, "It's delicious."
This is not Wei Qilang's exaggeration. These dishes are extremely delicious with rice, otherwise Jinniang would not let her daughter learn how to make them.
Because Jiang Xian was not at home, Jinniang could not keep Wei Qilang for long. Wei Qilang returned home from Jiang's house and talked a lot with Mrs. Wei.
"When my son went there, my aunt was having dinner. I heard that my cousin cooked a large table of dishes. My son didn't want to stay, but my aunt insisted that he stay, so he ate and came back."
Mrs. Wei smiled and said, "That's because your aunt thinks highly of you."
It's rare that the eldest daughter of the Jiang family is so well taken care of. Mother You went to the Jiang family a few days ago and said that the eldest daughter is becoming more and more outstanding and in good health.
As for Jinniang, she took the Yuling ointment at night. She had finally finished making her daughter's wedding dress. Without much to worry about, she fell asleep quickly. She didn't even know Jiang Xian had returned from the study.
The Meng family married off their daughter after the Dragon Boat Festival and invited Jinniang to be the bridegroom. Jinniang was a familiar figure and knew all the relatives of the Meng family. During the banquet, she sat with Madam Song. Madam Song looked very indifferent, like two different people. Jinniang didn't know when she had offended her and was too lazy to pay attention to her.
Today, Jinniang is already a fourth-rank official, and is a very respectable presence at banquets.
"Mrs. Jiang, my daughter is getting engaged in June. I wonder if you would be so kind as to be the bridegroom?" A Mrs. Pang came up and said.
Jinniang smiled and said, "I will wait until June to reply to you. I don't know now."
She couldn't just randomly marry someone off as it would be bad if the family had a bad reputation.
When Mrs. Pang saw Jinniang wearing a hairpin with three phoenixes holding pearls, a necklace of jasmine flowers on her hands, and exquisite and intricate clothes, she couldn't help but muster up her courage. She never thought that she didn't refuse at all.
Jinniang sent someone to inquire about the Pang family, and saw that her brother and his family had come to Beijing, so she asked the kitchen to prepare a welcoming banquet.
These five or six years did not seem to make much difference to Jinniang, but for her younger brother Wei Yang, it was like she had completely entered society from a student. But seeing that his temperament became more capable, Jinniang said with relief: "Seeing you like this, I am happier than anything else."
My younger sister-in-law Zhang gave birth to a son and a daughter in the past few years. The eldest daughter is Ziyi, who is four years old this year, and the son has just grown teeth. Luo Yu'e treats her two grandsons like her own treasures.
Jinniang gave her niece a gold necklace and her nephew a pair of jade pendants.
Zhang Pingjun smiled and said, "We know about Sister Jun's situation, so we specially prepared a lot of things to make her look better when we came back this time."
"Why do I need you to prepare anything? I haven't done anything else in the past few years. I've been focusing on preparing the dowry." Jinniang said.
Everyone took their seats, men and women separated. The men went to the living room to drink and chat, while the women sat at a table to eat. Luo Yu'e is still the same. No matter what Jinniang mentions, she can accurately transfer the message to Yang Ge'er.
"Your brother also lived alone in the academy at that time, but your father and I also delivered meals to him. Your brother got along well with others..."
Jinniang said helplessly, "Mom, I'm talking about our Ning and Yang brothers. I know about them. You've told me about them eight hundred times."
Luo Yu'e finally reacted, "I know, I know, I got carried away for a moment."
Yun Jie'er thought that it was really not easy for her mother to run the family. She didn't know how she managed to get by, even though she had two younger brothers. But mother treats them equally and doesn't keep nagging one child over another.
When it comes to filial piety, she thinks her mother is much more filial than her uncle. After she built a house, she moved her parents in.
My uncle's future was also arranged by my father. The marriage with the Wei family gave him an extra support. My mother's contribution was so great, but it was rarely mentioned by my grandmother.
Things at the table soon returned to normal. After the meal, Zhang Pingjun gave Yun Jie'er two loads of dowry, which included Hui ink, Xuan brushes, Xuan fans, and Hui inkstones from Xuanzhou, six pieces of silk from Hangzhou, a gold-painted dressing box, two boxes of makeup powder, and thirty-six silk flowers.
Yun Jie'er thought that this was not as much as what Manager Yao, Manager Tafang of Daming Mansion, or even Ruyan gave.
Fortunately, they were allowed to stay for one night. Wei Yang and his wife went to Zhang's house, while Luo Yu'e and his wife went to live in the farm and did not stay with Jinniang anymore.
Jinniang understood as soon as she saw her daughter's expression. She smiled and said, "Last time I asked your aunt to move the furniture away. I'm afraid she thought I was being too polite."
"But my uncle was also raised in Beijing by my father?" Yun Jie'er didn't understand.
Jinniang smiled and said, "But think about it, your aunt has been the one who has taken care of everything for your uncle during his six years of exile, including the legal advisors and attendants who followed him. The expenses are not cheap, and we haven't helped much. It hasn't been easy for your aunt over the years. Although her dowry is generous, you and mother have taken care of the household chores. Every year we give gifts, and the expenses alone cost a lot of money. Although your uncle has a salary, he still depends on her."
"As for the Zhou family's affairs, the Zhou family and we are in-laws, and the Zhou family's grandmother is her aunt. How could she not know about our inaction? But these are the excuses I found for her. The bottom line is, don't expect a return for a favor, because nine out of ten people will never repay you."
Always lower your expectations of others, live a more selfish life, and think more about yourself.
Sister Yun knew that her aunt was actually very nice to her. When her grandmother and grandfather were leaving, they still remembered what she liked to eat. But they are two families after all...
Jinniang thought that everyone in the family listened to her in the past because she was the richest and therefore the one in charge. Now the decision-making power has shifted to Zhang.
Even for herself, Ning'er and Ding'er are very attached to her now, but in the future when they get married, they will have their own small families.
This is also the reason why Jinniang always kept four thousand taels of gold for herself.
But she also knew that her daughter was still young and had a clear sense of right and wrong. Later on, she realized that people are very complicated. Whether it is the love between parents or between men and women, it is too pure and only exists in books, and it is difficult for ordinary people to encounter it.
Wei Yang asked Luo Yu'e and Wei Xiong to live together in their house, but Luo Yu'e waved her hand and said, "That's not necessary. Your sister is thoughtful and has long since bought land for us two old people. It's such a large piece of land and the manor is so big. Why bother living in Bianjing? We will come to visit you when we miss you."
In the past few years, the daughter paid all the rent of their land to them, a total of 150 strings of cash.
"That's not good..." Wei Yang couldn't bear to leave his parents.
But Wei Xiong and Luo Yu'e both knew that their habits were very different from those of their daughter-in-law. Luo Yu'e likes to cross her legs when eating, likes to eat pickled vegetables, likes to make noise, and has a strong personality. Wei Xiong likes to drink and can't talk. Zhang, the daughter of an official family, has completely different habits and eats without making any noise.
It was fine for them to have a superficial relationship, but as time went on, the family became the Zhang family's servants, and they were aware of the fact that people laughed at them in secret.
Three days after Luo Yu'e returned to the manor, she brought two native chickens to the door and said a lot to Jinniang.
"I dare not stand up for you. If you help your daughter-in-law at that time, I will be in a difficult position to say anything." Jinniang said with a smile.
Luo Yu'e gave her daughter a thumbs up and said, "We always listen to you. It was you who asked me to buy the land. No matter what, we two old people will never have to worry about food and clothing."
Jinniang smiled and said, "Don't always say bad things about her. As long as she treats her brother well, that's all that's good."
Sister Yun discovered that since her aunt was not here today, her grandmother and mother were very close, which refreshed her understanding. My grandmother also secretly gave my mother fifty strings of coins so that she could help her make jewelry.
My mother didn't want it, so my grandmother left the money and ran away.
What is this operation?
Jinniang smiled and said, "It's like tradition makes them love boys, because they think only boys can revive the family reputation and support the family. But they also love daughters. Don't you know that when I first went to the embroidery workshop to study, your grandfather sent me to school every morning and evening, rain or shine. Later, when I was in Beijing, they also bought me a house. Can you say they treat me badly?"
Sister Yun understood. You have to look at the bright side of everything. Otherwise, when someone is not there for you, you get angry and think that they are impure. In that case, you are torturing yourself instead of others.
On the other side, Zhang Pingjun was talking to Mrs. Zhang about family matters: "They said the greasy fried cakes they gave me were from their hometown and that they must let me try them, saying they were good things. When I ate some snacks, they said it was bad for my health. My mother-in-law is not a bad person, but she likes to show off. She always brags about her sons and daughters. She always attributes everything I say to her children. My father-in-law likes to take on things and agrees to everything others say. But after agreeing, he won't admit it if we ask him, and makes us suffer."
Madam Zhang looked at her and said, "Since you complain like this, it's no wonder that Madam Wei said from the beginning that you two should live separately."
"It's not that I want to complain, it's just that..." Zhang Pingjun also felt very annoyed.
Mrs. Zhang advised her, "My son-in-law originally came from a poor family. If he wasn't from a poor family, why would he choose you? You should take it easy."
It's not that Madam Zhang didn't help her daughter, but she frowned and said, "Have you ever thought about how other people get along? I remember that when your brother-in-law Jiang was not yet successful, he lived with your parents-in-law for more than three years. Why didn't they treat him like you? It's because your brother-in-law Jiang often praises his parents-in-law for being good to him that I think that although the Wei family is a small family, the parents-in-law are not difficult to deal with after all."
Zhang Pingjun had never thought about this. Jiang Xian had lived with his parents-in-law every day for three years. How did he survive?
It's a pity that it's difficult for her to know from other people. Fortunately, her parents-in-law have gone to the manor on their own initiative. Her husband has always been honest, and she feels much more comfortable living in her own yard.
At the same time, she also understood why her elder sister-in-law had asked them to live separately from the beginning. She always felt that she was too distant.
Of course, Jinniang didn't care much about Zhang Pingjun and the others. They were outsiders to begin with, and it was only because of Wei Yang's relationship that a few strange women got together.
Can they immediately become an inseparable family? This is also what she advised her daughter. When she goes to the Wei family, don't really treat anyone as a relative. Just treat them normally and it would be better to lower your expectations.
Besides, she was more concerned about the examination for Ningger's academy to enter the Imperial College, and everything else had to take a back seat.
The rent for the Luoyang farm was paid. Jinniang checked the accounts first and asked Hu Cheng, "There was no disaster in Luoyang, so why is there less money and rice this year?"
Hu Cheng did not dare to lie and quickly said, "Last year, due to the natural disaster, you asked us to waive the rent. This year, with good weather and good harvests, they still want to refuse to pay. Even after several reminders, they only paid 10%."
"The girl is going to get married next year. I don't want to cause any trouble, so please don't make it public for now. Let's see who is causing the trouble secretly. After catching the troublemaker, it would be good if he changes his ways. But if he continues to cause trouble, we will not rent the land to his family and will hand the case over to the government." Jinniang ordered.
There are always some people in this world who like to make trouble in order to force others to submit.
Hu Chengying said so.
But Jinniang said, "I have managed the manors in Wu County and Bianjing very well, but I still have to deal with the problems in Luoyang. If I can't handle it well next time, let your father give up the position of manor head."
Hu Cheng married Jiao Xing, a maid who used to serve Yun Jie'er, and planned to make her a concubine in the future. If he couldn't handle the matter well, not only would the Hu family suffer, but Jiao Xing's job as a concubine would also be in vain.
Hu Cheng didn't dare to be careless and told Jiao Xing first. Jiao Xing slapped her thigh and said, "Among the several manors, only our manor has problems. I'm afraid my wife will suspect that we embezzled the money."
When something went wrong at this time, Hu Cheng was extremely anxious. The couple discussed countermeasures and returned to Luoyang overnight.
After Hu Cheng left, Yun Jieer came over and Jin Niang told her about this matter: "Everything must be checked in advance, but you can't act too hastily, otherwise it is easy to cause death. We exempt some rents in famine years so that the people can have a living, but in good years, some people make trouble. We just need to find out the troublemakers. Most of the people who depend on the weather for their livelihood are still very pitiful."
"Mom, but didn't we lose a hundred strings of cash?" Yun Jie'er looked at the money in the account, feeling a little unhappy.
Jinniang smiled and said, "So you must keep some money for emergencies. Don't spend it all at once. I've also told Fan Si about this. Let's see how he manages it for you."
A butler is very important, as he is almost the ears and eyes of the women in the inner house to see the outside world.
As the mother and daughter were talking, they saw Madam Meng coming over. Jinniang asked her daughter to go down first and then stood up to welcome her in. Madam Meng also came to visit. Her daughter is married, and her concubine's son will get married at the end of the year, so there is no need to worry too much about it.
"Why are you here?" Jinniang gestured for her to sit down.
Madam Meng smiled and said, "Madam Pang asked me to ask you, she wants you to be a blessed person."
"I've been busy lately and forgot about it. If you come and ask me about this in person, I will definitely agree." Mainly because Jinniang had also found out that there was no problem with Mrs. Pang's daughter and her in-laws, she agreed immediately.
The wedding gifts given by the Pang family were also very generous, including two pieces of smoky satin, two pieces of gold gauze, two pieces of jewelry, a load of tea cakes, six gold-plated handkerchiefs, twenty gauze flowers, and a pair of silver beads.
Jinniang put these in her own warehouse, and came out of the warehouse with Aying. She couldn't help but hear Aying say, "Madam, have you noticed that the lady from the Jiang family next door hasn't been here for a long time? When she first moved here, she came here often."
"I don't know either. Maybe her daughter is getting married." Jinniang thought.
Little did they know that Madam Song's daughter was sick. Yun Jie'er heard what Meng Sanniang said. If she didn't know, it would be fine, but if she knew, she would definitely go to see her.
You wouldn’t know until you see it, and you will see that Jiang Song is so sick and haggard.
With her hair hanging down behind her head, dark circles under her eyes, and coughing constantly, Sister Yun was a little hesitant. She was afraid of being infected with the virus, but after thinking it over, she went in anyway.
"Sister Jiang, why are you so sick?"
Madam Song said, "She accidentally caught a cold. It's hard for you to come and visit her." She glanced at Yun Jie'er vaguely and saw that she looked very good, better than when she saw her at the beginning of last year. Her hair seemed to have doubled in length, her skin was fair and smooth, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her figure was especially well-proportioned.
Yes, having such a good marriage would make me smile even in my dreams.
Unlike her daughter, who worried too much about this matter and made herself sick.
Sister Yun had no idea what was on the mind of Madam Song and her daughter. She just said politely, "My mother said that a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. Although Sister Jiang and I are not biological sisters, we are friends who often play together. I hope that Auntie will take good care of Sister Jiang. This is a small token of my appreciation."
She was afraid of being infected throughout the process and stood far away from the bed.
Seeing her being so polite, Jiang Song felt ridiculous. Didn’t she know about the bond between him and Wei Qilang? I'm really worried about it.
"Ahem, thank you Sister Jiang for looking at me."
Sister Yun smiled and said, "Sister, take good care of yourself. Listen to the doctor and take your medicine well. I'll come see you again when you're better."
After she finished speaking, she pretended to leave. Jiang Song stood up to see her off, but she said, "No need to see me off. Go and get some rest."
After Yun Jie'er left, the smart Madam Song said, "I think this girl is not sincere. She said she came to visit the patient, but she was just pretending. But she is lucky. I heard from Madam Zhou Si that her mother had a clan alliance with the Wei family nine years ago. It was because of this that she and Wei Qilang were childhood sweethearts and were able to get married in one go."
"Mom, even though it was just a glimpse, my daughter was amazed. I'm afraid it will be difficult for her to meet someone like you in the rest of her life." Jiang Song cried and shook her head.
Madam Song sighed slightly, "Since you were little, your parents know that you have a high mind, and there are only a few people who can catch your eye. Wei Qilang's mother also admitted that he is an extremely handsome man, talented and beautiful, and he saved us. It is normal for you to have feelings for him. But since he has an engagement, you should forget about it. Swallow these bitter words, and wait for a while, and your mother will find a better one for you."
Jiang Song shook his head again: "Mom, let your daughter be quiet for now."
It was also said that Yun Jie'er came back from Jiang's house, went back to her room to wash her hands, changed into casual clothes and came to her mother's place. At this time, Jinniang no longer did much needlework, as she was tired of making dowry for her daughter in the past few years. She was now trying to make gauze flowers for Quanfu people.
"Mom, why didn't you wait for me to come with such beautiful gauze?" Sometimes, Jun Jieer felt that she loved her mother so much that she didn't see anything good in getting married.
Jinniang smiled and said, "I'll just give it a try when I have nothing to do."
Sister Yun took out a red box from her mother's dressing table with familiarity. Inside was candied hawthorns. She and her mother both loved to eat this, as it could help digestion and relieve greasiness.
Seeing her daughter eating a few sugar-frosted hawthorns, Jinniang put a light yellow gauze flower on her daughter's head and said, "This one looks good. Put a pink one next to it."
The mother and daughter dressed up for a while, and then asked the kitchen to send some chicken soup wontons to the provincial school.
In a flash, it was September. Ning Ge'er had finished his exams and returned from the prefectural school. He also went to Wei's house to chat with Wei Qilang. "I've wanted to ask my cousin about the interesting things on his journey, but I was always too busy. Now that the exams are finally over, we can chat more freely."
Wei Qillang had his own group of friends from the yamen, and he was also good at cockfighting, dog racing and falconry, but among his peers he had met, there were very few who were like Ning Ge'er, who was born in a wealthy place but was diligent in study.
He was still thinking about something he hadn't talked about for a long time. He had just said it casually at the time, and he felt a little guilty when he saw Ning Ge'er.
Therefore, he recounted the story of how he encountered pirates at sea, followed the master back to his hometown, and fought wits with the master's relatives.
Ning Ge'er listened with great interest, but he said, "If my mother were with me, I could go out, but I might be afraid to go out by myself. Cousin, you are really amazing."
Wei Qilang raised his eyebrows and asked Ning Ge'er, "Don't talk about me, how did you do in the exam this time?"
Ning Ge'er shook his head: "I didn't do well in the exam, much worse than others."
Wei Qilang was about to say a few words of comfort, but he saw Chen Tong, Ning Ge'er's servant outside, said, "My dear, just now your prefectural school instructor came to our house and said that you have been recommended by the prefectural school to enter the Imperial College as a Jinshi."
Ning Ge'er was immediately delighted: "Really?" and quickly said goodbye to Wei Qilang.
Wei Qilang was left behind, thinking about how Ning Geer was the first in the provincial academy to be admitted to the Imperial College. He was so humble just now, and on the surface he said that he couldn't leave his mother, but in fact he had lived in the provincial academy for three years...
This brother-in-law is just trying to entertain himself.
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