Chapter 141 Chapter 141 Two Chapters Combined
To outsiders, it might not seem like a big deal that their son was admitted to the Imperial College, but to the Jiang family, it was a big deal. Although Jinniang acted indifferent to outsiders, she prepared a banquet for her family and invited everyone to come and celebrate for Ning Ge'er.
In the blink of an eye, Ning Ge'er is thirteen years old and looks like a little adult. Today is a good day for him. Jinniang even made a jacket for him overnight and was very proud of him.
Luo Yu'e also arrived early. Jinniang was saying to her, "Mother and father are here this time, so it's a good opportunity to stay for a few days before going back. Although the countryside is quieter, it's still lonely. It's almost the Warm Fire Festival, so you should spend it with us."
At her son's home, Luo Yu'e and her friends always felt very restrained, but at her daughter's home, she always felt much more comfortable. Then Yun Jieer advised, "Grandma, please stay. I miss you too."
Jiang Xian said, "Yes, I am often not at home during the day now, so my father-in-law and mother-in-law are here to help us look after the house, and it will be more lively for us to be together."
"You two can go to other gardens to see the flowers during the day, and go to the restaurant to eat some delicious food. Let's wait for your son-in-law to have a day off, and then you can go out for a walk together. That would be great." Jinniang said with a smile.
So Luo Yu'e and Wei Xiong agreed. The couple had lived with Jinniang all year round. This time, Jinniang arranged for them to live directly in the three houses in the garden. She had a lot more time now. Her daughter's dowry was ready, her son had been admitted to the Imperial Academy, and her youngest son was also studying. She had finished what she needed to do.
Zhang Pingjun, who was standing aside, looked at Jiang Xian thoughtfully. She wondered how Jiang Xian got along with his parents-in-law. As I watched carefully, I realized that no matter whether he was sincere or not, he was much more emotional than her.
How did he endure it?
She doesn't understand.
However, there were some things that could not be said. Zhang Pingjun still wanted to say: "Sister, this is too much trouble for you."
"Why bother? I told you this before you got married. You two can live on your own. When parents want some fun, they can stay with me. When they want some quiet time, they can go back to the countryside for a few days." Jinniang said with a smile, not thinking it was a big deal at all.
At this moment, Zhang Pingjun suddenly realized that the other person had done it for her own good.
After the banquet, the guests left one after another.
Jinniang arranged for her parents to stay first, and then said to Yunjieer, "We have mulberry fields on our farm in Suzhou, so we get some undyed silk every year. You can also buy a few looms for your farm in Luoyang, and have them deliver a fixed amount of cloth every year. We can dye it and cut some for the servants to wear. As for the rest of the fixed amount, the women can keep it for themselves or sell it. This will be good for everyone."
Her daughter is going to get married next March, which means there is only half a year left, and she has to teach her daughter everything she knows.
"Mom, I know." Sister Yun smiled.
Jinniang thought that although she had lived in poverty for a few years after traveling through time, and had lived a life of hardship and endurance before the age of twenty, her only lucky thing was that her husband and children were all good.
However, she also warned her daughter: "When you first enter the Wei family, you still have to adapt to the local customs and win over Qilang. No matter what you do in the future, you will not be isolated and helpless. Otherwise, no matter how capable you are at the beginning, if you don't gain people's trust, no one will listen to you no matter how good you are."
This is the advice given by experience, and Sister Yun suddenly understood after hearing it.
On the other hand, Mrs. Zhou Si had finally prepared most of her dowry, and her husband Sun Shichen had now been promoted to the sixth rank of Dali Temple Assistant Minister.
But she had almost used up all her money. She originally wanted to keep her daughter for a few more years, but as girls grow up, they cannot be kept here any longer, and she had no choice.
Just as she was thinking about it, Madam Song arrived and Madam Zhou Si stood up to greet her.
"Why is Sister Song here? You didn't even tell me in advance, so that I can make arrangements."
Madam Song thought that all the people who used to cling to her were different now, not to mention Wei Jinniang, and even Zhou Si had changed a lot.
But she had no choice. Her husband was like a latent dragon in the deep and needed someone to promote him. And Zhou Si had to introduce this person to Jiang Fang.
Mrs. Zhou Si was not stupid either, because Jiang Fang was a talented but sharp-tongued man. He rarely promoted anyone in his own family and was only polite to her husband. It was just that outsiders did not know the relationship between the two, so Sun Shichen was still able to get by.
How can I introduce others to her?
Therefore, Mrs. Zhou played dumb the whole time, causing Mrs. Song to leave in disappointment.
After Madam Song left, Miss Sun came over and said, "Mother, why didn't Miss Jiang come?"
"How would I know? Last time he said he was sick, but now he's fine. I don't know what happened." Mrs. Zhou Si also found it strange.
Miss Sun seemed to have realized something: "Last time she asked me about Miss Jiang's fiancé. I wonder if she is interested in Wei Jia Qilang?"
Madam Zhou Si also suddenly realized. Madam Song had also asked her specifically about the relationship between Wei Jinniang and the Wei family. She couldn't help but admire her daughter's insight, which was like a pair of eagle eyes.
"Does Miss Jiang know about this?"
This is the key point.
Miss Sun smiled and said, "Even if you know, just pretend you don't know. Miss Jiang can't influence anything, so why should you care about her?"
They are simply not on the same level. The Jiang family has long been in decline, while the Jiang family is like the rising sun.
An inspection was held every three years. Jiang Xian was previously a fourth-rank official in the Baohe Hall, and was considered a close minister to the emperor. Although he was not a die-hard supporter of Shen Zhijun, he was often the first to complete the tasks assigned by Shen Zhijun. At the same time, because of his good handwriting and outstanding literary talent, after Wei Daxueshi was promoted to Right Counselor and Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council, Jiang Xian remained as the Baohe Hall Assistant and acting governor of Kaifeng Prefecture.
Jinniang also knew that this was probably the time when Shen Shangzheng had the most power in the past few years since he took office, so Jiang Xian and Jiang Fang were both promoted one after another. This time, Jinniang and the late Madam Jiang Liu were both granted the title of third-rank ladies.
There was a constant stream of people coming to the mansion to celebrate. Madam Song, who had not been seen for many days, came with her daughter Jiang Song. In fact, if the two families were not neighbors, I'm afraid Jinniang would not have seen her.
"Sister, Mrs. Wei and her husband are here." Aying came in and said.
Jiang Song couldn't move his feet when he heard the word "son-in-law", but Jinniang said, "Madam Song, my sister-in-law is here, please excuse me."
Qingrong was already preparing to see the guest off. Madam Song thought that a phoenix that had fallen to the ground was no better than a chicken, so she prepared to leave with her daughter. Naturally, she saw Madam Wei and her daughters-in-law coming over at the front porch. Then, looking at her daughter's infatuated eyes, she couldn't help but say in her heart, "Fool, Foolish girl."
In the past, Jinniang and her friends looked up to the Wei family. Now, as Jiang Xian has become the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, although they are now on equal footing, Jinniang no longer needs to do so as usual.
"Sister-in-law is here." Jinniang went out to greet her.
Madam Wei thought that since the marriage, Jiang Xian's official position has now reached the third rank, and her vision was indeed correct.
Because Madam Wei was coming, Jinniang asked Yunjie to come out, and Yunjie came out with a red face.
For nearly a year, Jinniang raised her daughter like a flower, letting her have a good rest, eating a balanced diet of meat and vegetables, and often sending her to exercise. Even Madam Wei couldn't take her eyes off her when she saw her.
"The older girl is becoming more and more outstanding."
Sister Yun said, "You are too kind. I will go down and make you some tea."
The female members of the family all covered their mouths and laughed. Yun Jie'er breathed a sigh of relief when she left the yard. Her current goal is to get married in the future, so that she can live a single-family life like her mother, and also bring her parents to live with her. She doesn't know how happy she will be.
But I didn't expect to see Wei Qilang again in the corridor. He came here with Ning Ge'er. Although Jinniang was very strict in housekeeping, they were all her nephews and nephews, so of course there was no need to be shy. Sister Yun thought about what her mother said. She really didn't think too much about Wei Qillang before, but if she were to marry him in the future, she would definitely have to find an ally first. She looked at Wei Qillang meaningfully.
Wei Qillang still thought he had done something wrong?
The two cousins came in to pay their respects. Jinniang and Madam Wei happily asked them to go to the garden to entertain the guests, as a son-in-law is worth half a son.
Mrs. Wei was asking Luo Yu'e, "My dear, why didn't you come to our house to play after you came back?"
Zhang Pingjun, who was standing nearby, saw how much Mrs. Wei valued her mother-in-law and thought to herself that she had forgotten that although the Wei family gave a small dowry at the time, they were already related to the Wei family. Besides, the dowry was hers, and she was still an official’s wife, so it wasn’t a bad deal at all.
People are like this. When they live together, there are always a lot of frictions. Now that they no longer live together, she feels guilty towards her parents-in-law, thinking that she is not filial and is not a good daughter-in-law.
Luo Yu'e would not say anything bad about her family members outside. She just smiled and said, "We are old. We feel tired when we go anywhere except to Jinniang and her brother's place. It would be good for my wife to come to my daughter's house so that we can meet together."
"You really gave birth to a filial daughter." Mrs. Wei looked at Zhang Pingjun meaningfully.
Obviously, although Jinniang didn't say anything, Mrs. Wei was such a smart person that she saw it at a glance. If her daughter-in-law was filial, how could she still live in her daughter's house?
But she also knew that the marriage was between a poor scholar and a rich girl, and it was also thanks to the Wei family's parents that they gave birth to a good daughter like Mrs. Jiang, who was clear-headed and did not criticize each other.
Luo Yu'e laughed: "That's right, my daughter was also raised as a boy since she was young."
There were laughter and joy here, but the atmosphere in the Jiang family was low. Jiang Zhuangyuan had just come over, but he had long been forgotten. Jiang Xian treated him no differently than usual, but he himself had long been left at the bottom of the list. Even Doctor Meng who lives next door is seated closer to the front than him.
Mrs. Song had to appease her husband and talk to her daughter. She said angrily, "After a while, we would rather pay more dowry and say that we can become Jinshi. After all, the future will not be too bad."
But even Madam Song knew that children of officials had more connections than children from poor families, and their careers in the government were much easier. Jiang Xian had no shortage of connections at the time, but he lacked money the most, so he found Wei Jinniang. Because of this, his social class did not fall, and now his career is very smooth, and he is much happier.
Little did they know that although Jinniang and Jiang Xian were happy, they both had plans.
At the beginning of the year, Fang Ya looked at two houses with two courtyards and three sides, but both were unsuccessful. It was not until the Warm-up Festival was over that he found a house near the Imperial College. Jinniang is now the wife of the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, so Fang Ya dared not offend her and asked for an exorbitant price. After buying her for 2,300 taels, he also introduced a very affordable back-mounted craftsman to her.
Jinniang spent another two hundred strings of cash to renovate the place and had a carpenter make furniture. She only breathed a sigh of relief after getting the house deed.
"In this case, even if our family splits up in the future, it won't matter. Let's not rent it out now. Let Mother Fang and her nephew live there together and help look after the house."
In the past, we asked Mother Fang to go with us on the expedition, firstly because she was an old friend of Grandma Jiang Liu, and secondly because she was an insightful mother.
But more than ten years have passed, and Mother Fang has grown old, now over 60, and often suffers from back pain. It would be inappropriate for Jinniang to ask her to serve her all the time. Besides, Aying and Qingrong around her are both the best of the new generation. They are literate and even stronger. Therefore, it would be most appropriate to arrange Mother Fang to live in the house over there.
You don't have to work, but you can still get two cents a month as salary.
By the time Fang's mother moved into the new house, Laba Festival had already passed.
As the weather got cold, Luo Yu'e and Wei Xiong rarely went out and stayed in the garden to spend the winter. Sister Yun is strictly forbidden to go out. She is going to get married next spring. It is better to be safe than sorry. If she feels bored, she can ask Luo Yu'e to come and they can play cards and talk together.
There was some snow in Bian Jing today, and the main room was very lively. Jinniang had a bowl of pear soup and two snacks at her side. Sister Yun smiled and said, "Mom, when I got a small pimple, you prepared this for me. It really gives me a pillow when I feel sleepy."
Jinniang glanced at her daughter and couldn't help but said, "You are always good at saying nice things to please me, but why can't you say a single nice word when Madam Wei is here?"
Sister Yun blushed slightly: "Mom, you are making fun of me again."
Luo Yu'e, who was standing by, came to the rescue of her granddaughter: "Originally, this marriage was considered marrying up, but now it is not considered marrying up. Our sister Yun is doing very well."
"No matter how you look at it, this can be considered a favor of recognition. We should not forget our roots. Your father had a low official position back then, but people still married into our family. This shows that they think highly of us." Jinniang believed that a man's favor of recognition was in his official career, while a woman's fate could only be changed through marriage, unless she was promoted in the Wenxiuyuan like she was in the past.
Yun Jieer couldn't help but nod when she heard what Jin Niang said: "You are right." But she couldn't keep dragging it onto herself, so she smiled and said: "Mother, I heard that the eldest daughter of the Sun family will marry into the Meng family this month, and I don't know what will happen."
When Jinniang heard her mention Miss Sun, she realized how time passed by so quickly.
Zhou Si Niang thought so too. After she had saved up her dowry and wedding gifts, she felt almost exhausted, but she finally breathed a sigh of relief. But thinking that his eldest daughter would be married off soon, he felt very reluctant.
The eldest Miss Sun persuaded her younger sister, the second Miss Sun: "You, don't be so picky. While your aunt and uncle are willing to make the decision for you, choose a wealthy family to marry into. It will be a way out."
As a child, I don't want to say anything bad about my mother. Sometimes she seems to understand a lot of principles, but sometimes she is very paranoid and naive.
It is always said that it is not good for daughters to remain single for their entire lives. But if they remain single, they will still have to depend on their brother's wife in the future. Once their parents pass away, won't they be driven away?
If you really don't want to get married for the rest of your life, you have to have a way out.
Seeing that Jiang Yun's younger brother was admitted to the Imperial College at the age of thirteen, another younger brother may also be able to become an official in the future. With all the brothers becoming officials and the family prospering, it would not be a big deal to support a few people.
Miss Sun Er said, "Sister, I'm still young, why are you in such a hurry? I don't think the lady of the Meng family is easy to get along with, and Meng Sanlang is a concubine's son. If you go there, I'm afraid you will be bullied."
She didn't want to find a bastard's child. People always insult people by calling them "born out of wedlock", which was just an insult to the person's improper birth.
When Miss Sun was rebuked by her younger sister, she pouted and said nothing more.
On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, Miss Sun's dowry was delivered first. The whole street was looking at the dowry. It is human nature to join in the fun. Ah Ying was indispensable for such a lively occasion. Ah Ying looked back and shook her head: "There are only thirty-six loads of dowry in total. Madam Meng is not happy and thinks that her dowry is too small."
"Not really. I heard from Xiangming that Miss Zhou's fourth daughter left her a lot of good things when old lady Zhou passed away." Jinniang said.
Ah Ying smiled and said, "I heard that their family used up all their money to buy a house. You don't know that they only have two pieces of jewelry. One set looks pretty good, and the other set has only eight pieces. One of them is a very light gold crown."
Everyone is keen on making such comparisons, especially the three sons of the Meng family, who are increasingly keen on competing with each other.
But Thursday is too lame...
"Did Tian come as a dowry?" Jinniang was puzzled.
Ah Ying shook her head: "It seems not."
Sister Yun, who was standing by, said, "Mother, you don't know that the third daughter of the Meng family was born out of wedlock and was given 300 mu of dowry land. Although the second daughter of the Meng family was given top-quality land in Kaifeng as a dowry, the third daughter of the Meng family was only given some low-quality land, but at least it sounds good when it is spread out."
Jinniang said: "Yes, the Meng family treats everyone equally on the surface, why is the Sun family like this?"
Mrs. Meng also talked to Mr. Meng at home: "You said that the Sun family is a family of scholars and relatives of some high-ranking official, but these dowries are too shabby."
Mr. Meng said, "It's the behavior of inferior people to choose the bride's dowry. In our family, we only care about the girl's good character."
Originally, Mrs. Meng thought that the Sun family was not rich, but such a small amount would hurt her face. But when she heard Mr. Meng pretending to be noble, she couldn't help laughing. Every blade of grass and every tree in this family cost money.
Just the inkstone on the desk cost a hundred strings of coins. How could he have gotten all that without money?
Elegance is built with money.
Although Mrs. Meng grumbled, Miss Sun still got married normally the next day. There was music and dance, and it was still a lively occasion. Jinniang also went over to drink a glass of wine. Of course, Yunjie would not show up in public anymore. After all, a daughter of a wealthy family should not sit idle in the hall. The more critical the moment, the more she cannot let down her team.
However, Madam Song brought her daughter Jiang Song out. After all, the Meng family was a middle-level official with royal relatives, so there were many people of status who came.
The person sitting at the main seat now was Jinniang, the wife of the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture. Madam Song sat at the second table. Jiang Song, whom she was so proud of, was being stared at by the wives of fifth- and sixth-rank officials. Some even pulled him by the hand to look at him. Even she couldn't stand it, let alone her daughter who was always proud and arrogant.
Jinniang and Yunjie'er had actually gone through these experiences. These people were also annoying, treating other people's daughters as commodities, so she was helping them out: "Madam Yi, look at you, you have so many daughters at home, and you come out and still covet other people's daughters."
Madam Yi smiled and said, "I just love to join in the fun."
"If you ask me, this year our opera and drinking dates cannot coincide with each other like they did last year. No matter what, we each have to pick a date." Jinniang changed the subject.
Everyone said it was a good idea.
Jinniang thought that the benefits brought by status were really good, but at the same time, it would be unbearable for someone like Song Niang to fall into a lower class. It is true that it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
Putting others’ ideas into perspective, I am now a lady of the third rank, and my family is as prosperous as flowers and brocade. However, if one day I fall into a lower social class in the future, I must keep a normal mind.
At dusk, Meng Sanlang welcomed Miss Sun into the house. Jinniang saw that Meng Sanlang looked more handsome than Meng Dalang, and thought that Miss Huang, whom she had never met but had died, must be a beauty.
After the newlyweds came out to greet everyone, Jinniang returned from Meng's house. When she reached the door of her house, she unexpectedly saw Jiang Xian.
"Why are you here?" Jinniang asked with a smile.
Jiang Xian stepped forward and said, "Since I became the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, I have to not offend the nobles and help the common people solve their problems. I have been so busy that I have no time for myself. Fortunately, I have a break today."
In front of him, Jinniang was not at all pretentious. She only talked about new things and inevitably mentioned Miss Jiang next door: "Fortunately, we arranged a marriage for our daughter in her early years. Otherwise, she would be dragged around by those people like looking at livestock and belongings. It would be very pitiful."
Jiang Xian had a different opinion: "If you can be noticed by others, there might be some hope. If they don't even glance at you, that would be tragic."
"That's right." Jinniang thought that everything looked different from everyone's perspective.
Not to mention that Jiang Song cried again when he returned, and although Miss Sun was left out for a while by Madam Meng on the first day of her wedding, she still greeted her with a smile, as if she had no grudge at all.
Miss Sun's maid was very upset with her: "My wife was so respectful to them and did so much needlework herself, but she acted like a mother-in-law."
Unexpectedly, Miss Sun laughed and said, "This just shows that my mother-in-law is a person who shows her emotions on her face, but she has given what she should give, which is better than those two-faced people."
The girl also suddenly realized: "It's true."
Miss Sun said, "A mother-in-law who is too shrewd will probably only scheme against you, not you. You can't defeat such a person, and as a daughter-in-law, you can't say anything about your suffering."
Furthermore, she married Meng Sanlang yesterday and found that Meng Sanlang was indeed a learned man. The furnishings in his house were also quite good. It was obvious that although he was a bastard, he was not treated harshly in life.
For this marriage, she didn't care about the appearance, she only cared about the substance. In the future, when Meng Sanlang passed the imperial examination and became an official, she could go to her uncle to recommend him. Meng Sanlang would have royal relatives to guarantee him, and his future would depend on his wife's family. She would just have to endure the temporary cold treatment.
It’s not easy to deal with Jiang Jun, because Mrs. Wei is an extremely shrewd person.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
