Chapter 144 Chapter 144 Two Chapters Combined
A month after Yun Jieer got married, Miss Sun next door became pregnant. Jin Niang sent Qingrong to deliver some supplements. When Qingrong came back, she said, "Miss Sun has taken the maidservant next to her as her concubine."
how so? Mrs. Zhou Si should be a modern person. How could she raise her daughter to have a concubine?
A Tongfang is not a real concubine, but has a higher status than an ordinary maid and is considered a man's concubine. If a concubine has children in the future, it would be fine. If not, she would have to take on the share of a maid and still have to warm the bed of the master.
Jinniang was a little surprised: "Was it Madam Meng's request?"
Qing Rong shook her head: "I don't know about that, but it's hard to say. Madam Meng is really something. She hates me so much when I mention her, and it's really amazing that she makes trouble for her daughter-in-law."
Little did she know that Mrs. Meng was only hinting that it would be inappropriate for her to send a woman over. After all, they are a family of scholars, not the kind of people without rules who would casually give away women or concubines. After all, Meng Sanlang still needs to study.
The daughter-in-law here is quite sensible. Madam Meng even used this to teach her daughter a lesson: "You just like to eat alone. You don't know that this man goes out to find fresh food when there is nothing new at home. You can discipline him at home, but you can't control him outside. Look at Sanlang's wife, how virtuous and smart she is. The concubine is her own person. The two of them are in harmony, and the backyard is in harmony."
Meng Erniang curled her lips and said, "Mother, what's so good about this? Third brother has only been married for a short time, and he's already taking a concubine so soon. If there are a few extra illegitimate children, she will be worried."
"The children of illegitimate children are just given food to eat. If they are promising, you should ask for a title from their legal mother first. It's in the etiquette and law. There is nothing to be afraid of." Madam Meng doesn't like Huang Xiaoniang. It's not that she doesn't like her, but she doesn't like her who goes against her.
Miss Zhou Si had a completely different reaction from Madam Meng. She looked at her daughter and said, "What are you doing? You've only been married for a short time, why are you starting to make a face of your daughter?"
In Zhou Si's opinion, it was his daughter who had a crush on Meng Sanlang. How could she be so generous as to give up her husband to someone else?
Miss Sun sighed slightly: "Mom, if I don't do this, the people my mother-in-law sends will definitely challenge me. Instead of that, I might as well do it in a more beautiful way. I know what you mean, but my daughter is not that lucky."
She had some family background, but not the best; she had some looks, but not stunningly beautiful; she had some talent, but Meng Sanlang did not like women whose talent was much better than his. He only liked the pleasure of having a beautiful woman by his side. Instead, he was wary of his wife's excessive intelligence.
She has two role models, one is Madam Wu, who is virtuous, simple and self-respecting and respected by others; the other is Madam Wei, who is capable and has personality and is not afraid of what others say.
As for the former, although she sometimes had to swallow some bitterness, she also gained a lot and her status remained unchanged. As for the latter, even though some people said she was jealous and came from a humble background but became a phoenix, she did not feel that she was inferior to men and continued to be an official's wife as if she was born that way.
It is difficult for her to become the latter because she cannot stand gossip. Meng Sanlang is not like Jiang Xian who remains loyal to his wife even after becoming rich. The former is the easiest to learn.
Mrs. Thursday hugged her daughter and said, "You have suffered."
"What's so hard about it? Song'er grew up with me. She became my concubine and I promoted her openly. She has become respectable and is grateful for my support. We are two grasshoppers on the same rope, so shouldn't we be happier?" Miss Sun has her own wisdom to survive.
My daughter has her own ideas and opinions. I have instilled a lot of modern ideas in her, but my daughter is a completely ancient person.
However, Miss Sun did not think herself to be anything special. She was highly praised by the Meng family and respected by Meng Sanlang.
Of course Jinniang didn’t know these things. She only knew some things that could be seen. How could she not know what other people were thinking? These things happening in the Meng family are nothing more than gifts given between neighbors that need to be registered, that's all.
The Jiang family next door sold their house and I heard they moved to Yi Qiumen. Anyway, Madam Song is not short of money.
Jinniang also said to Jiang Xian: "How many families have moved next door to us? I can't even count them all."
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "My wife, look at you, why are you worrying about others? No matter who comes in the future, don't visit too often. Although it is said that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors, but this exchange is too frequent, we don't have to take it too seriously."
"I just feel that everything is changing, but we seem to remain the same," said Jinniang.
After the couple finished talking, Dou Yuan came over. When Dou Yuan's daughter was in Daming Prefecture in her early years, she invited Jin Niang to be her bride and arranged a marriage for her to be with Han Xiao's eldest son. Sister Luo now has the charm of a young girl, but Sister Yun is married. Otherwise, the cousins can still talk to each other.
But now Jinniang could only ask the servants to take the child to play in the garden: "Don't keep her here to listen to us adults talking, it's very boring."
Dou Yuan met Jinniang again after seven years and felt that she was much more calm than before. Her sixteenth cousin was still not having a concubine at this age. That was true love, and it was also the confidence of her cousin's wife.
This is what she thought and said: "You really can win my cousin's heart."
"Stop talking like that. I don't have any tricks. It's purely your cousin's own consciousness." Jinniang didn't think that she had made Jiang Xian so devoted to her. It was probably because he married her when he was young and didn't often go out to see other women.
Some men will still cheat on their wives no matter how virtuous and beautiful they are.
So Jiang Xian is a good person in himself.
Dou Yuan's life has been much more comfortable in recent years, but there are still some complicated things to deal with, such as discord between sisters-in-law, and her eldest sister-in-law's son wanting to divide the family property when he grows up. But now that I have arrived in Beijing, everything seems to be turning for the better. More importantly, I am back together with my cousin's wife.
The Dou family is indeed not doing well now, but the Jiang family is full of talented people.
As the two were talking, Zhou Sanniang came over and Jinniang introduced them to each other.
Lady Zhou San is Jiang Fang's wife. Jiang Fang's career is going well now. He is almost a sharp knife to Prime Minister Shen. His official position is promoted very quickly. Now he is already a Grand Secretary of Longtu Pavilion.
Now, Miss Zhou San has become more low-key and not as aggressive as before.
The group talked about safe topics. Jinniang asked, "In the past, collars were wide and the embroidery was full and delicate. Now, narrow collars are popular."
Madam Zhou San said, "That's right. Look at the clothes I'm wearing now. That's right. Your sister Yun's wedding dress is really well made. I heard that you made it."
"Yes, this child said she wanted the wedding dress I wore when I got married before. I said they were old clothes and how could I give them to her to wear? So I made one for her." Jinniang said with a smile.
Mrs. Zhou San praised: "Your craftsmanship is definitely impeccable."
Because Jiang Fang was a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Shen, Zhou Sanniang also mentioned that Shen Qi Niang was going to get married: "The dowry is ready. It's not good to wait until July to get married. It's about this time."
Jinniang smiled and said, "That's good. The Wei family will soon have two new daughters-in-law."
Because Dou Yuan went to the Wei family to guard the house that day, and the Wei family and the Zhen family were both prominent families in Daming Prefecture, so she said: "The second wife of Wei has a very gentle temperament. People gave her a nickname of 'Second Bodhisattva'. If the girl from the Shen family marries into the family, she will probably fall into a blessed nest."
Those who have been married know that it is not enough to have a good husband, the mother-in-law is also of paramount importance.
In the rear house, a woman has the most contact with her mother-in-law, and she is not allowed to show the slightest disrespect to her elders. Dou Yuan felt this deeply. Naturally, this was the only benefit. After all, the eldest branch of the Wei family was the one with real power and influence.
Just like the Zhen Erlang she married was actually the eldest son, all the favors were first given to Zhen Erlang, and after Zhen Erlang's lock was tested, he was granted the official position.
Dou Yuan would not say much about these things. After all, people who are not good at speaking should speak less. Fewer words are worse than better words. She often thinks so.
Jinniang said, "Yes, I have known Madam Wei for many years, and I have never seen her get angry with anyone."
Shen Qiniang and Wei Balang finally decided to get married on May 16th. In fact, both families had been preparing for it for many years and had everything ready.
Jinniang happened to have people from both families come to congratulate her, and the Wei family even specially asked Yunjie to take Jinniang in. Jinniang knew that her daughter was a newlywed and it was inconvenient for her to go out, so she had the opportunity to see her daughter, which was the purpose of the visit.
"Mom, I knew you would come today. Please go sit with me first. Second Aunt is busy." Sister Yun said.
She followed her daughter to the Qixia Courtyard where they lived. She didn't expect that this was a second courtyard. "Are the people living outside servants?"
Sister Yun nodded: "Yes, the girls living outside, a small study has been built in the ear room next to us, and the east and west wing rooms are now empty."
Needless to say, the empty ones are definitely for the children to live in.
But seeing her daughter like this, Jinniang said, "I asked Xiqiu to come with you. She is also a person who has experienced things. If your period has not come, or you feel sick or uncomfortable, don't be stupid and take some blood-activating medicine."
Sister Yun invited Jinniang to the inner room and said while they were drinking tea, "Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on it."
"That's good." After saying this, Jinniang looked at the furnishings in the room. Bronze flower vases, jade ruyi, incense burners, and books were all placed on the tables. On the incense table for guests in the outer room were things like Buddha's hands and citrons, separated by a Xiangfei bamboo curtain. On the treasure pavilion were all kinds of silk figurines, clay figurines and other new toys.
The bed was covered with a gauze curtain embroidered with jasmine and green gauze by Jinniang, a blue satin bed sheet, and a thin cloud-colored quilt. A pair of glass lamps given by Ruyan hung at the head of the bed.
There is no sense of clutter in this room, it is very elegant and peaceful.
"The house is well tidy." Jinniang said sincerely.
Yun Jieer was very happy to hear her mother's praise: "Thank you for the compliment, mother."
Of course, what Jinniang cares about most is whether her daughter is doing well in the Wei family: "How is it? I can't come here for a month. Do you have any conflicts with others?"
"No, my eldest brother has passed the examination for locking the hall and is now a attendant. My eldest sister-in-law is very happy. As for my sixth sister-in-law, she is pregnant and is taking care of the fetus. So after my daughter visits her in the morning and evening, she stays in her own yard and rarely goes out." Sister Yun said.
Jinniang asked Wei Qilang: "How is my son-in-law?"
Yun Jieer smiled and said, "It's just studying. I tell you, he was very happy when I did his facial. He often asked me to do it for him, but I wouldn't let him do it. He always tried to please me."
"Oh, I feel relieved to see that your children are so well behaved. Silly girl, I often hear that in powerful families like theirs, when the wife is pregnant, there will most likely be concubines to serve her. Don't be silly and ask for someone just for the sake of pretending to be virtuous. Even if your mother-in-law sends someone over, since they are really there to serve you, you should just treat them like a maid." Jinniang said.
Sister Yun said, "But won't the mother-in-law be happy about this?"
"You're already pregnant, why would she be unhappy? When you give birth to the child, whether it's a boy or a girl, she won't make things difficult for you for the sake of the child. In this world, no one can really make things difficult for you if you don't want to do something. Just think of temporary displeasure as a test. There's still a long way to go in life. When you're capable of being the head of a family, these will be small matters."
After listening to her mother's words, Yun Jie'er gained confidence, but she also wondered what if Wei Qilang was not a good person? No, if he dares, the worst that can happen is that I will divorce him. Anyway, I can still go home.
Jinniang had prepared countermeasures for all these things, and Yunjie took them to heart.
The mother and daughter talked for a while before going to the second house of the Wei family. Everyone was congratulating Mrs. Wei. Mrs. Wei, who was sitting nearby, said to Jinniang, "Madam Sangu, this is truly a match made in heaven."
"That's right." Jinniang also agreed.
Mrs. Wei laughed again, "Now that our two families have become relatives, we are not as close as before. I would say that you should come more often."
If you come here too often, you will be annoying. Jinniang knows her limits very well, so she joked, "I think it's you who is unwilling to come to my house. I said a few days ago that if there are still lotus pods in my small pond in two or three months, you can come then, and we can enjoy the breeze where the flowers have withered, drink the lotus wine brewed last year, and appreciate the lotus flowers again."
To be honest, Mrs. Wei really liked Jinniang's personality. She was not nosy and usually only said nice things. After becoming a clan member with his own family, he never relied on his own family for anything except necessary interactions, and even when others were doing well, he would not be arrogant.
This time, Qilang's wife's dowry was thicker than that of Fan and Wang, which really made him proud.
Not to mention that after Sister Yun came in, she had no appetite for the first few days. She said that spicy food can stimulate the appetite, and the pink spicy radish she made and served it in a white glazed plate with gold painting really whetted her appetite.
She also made herself a satin headband embroidered with peonies, and her attitude was extremely respectful.
Besides, he knows his own son. He comes home whenever he has time. It’s because he got married. He wasn’t so diligent before.
Naturally, she would not tell Jinniang about these things, and Jinniang would not rashly ask her daughter how she was. They both knew what was going on.
After returning from the Wei family for a while, Jinniang asked the maids to massage her legs and shoulders, and then took a carriage to the two mansions. She was exhausted after traveling for most of the day and felt like she was falling apart.
"Madam, Huizhu brought over the rock sugar and snow pear soup." said the little girl outside.
Jinniang said, "Send it in."
She ate a bowl of sweet soup and took a nap. When she woke up, it was already dark.
Just then Jiang Xian came back from outside. Jinniang yawned and said, "I've been out for most of the day. I'm a little tired. I've slept until now. It's a good time for you to change your clothes and have dinner."
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "It would be good for you to rest more, my lady."
"Yes, I used to feel that if I didn't do anything, the day would go by too fast. Now I think that I worked too hard in my early years. Now I should rest more when I should." Jinniang herself was very open-minded.
Jiang Xian thought that his wife had suffered enough. Although she had high self-esteem, her sense of self-worth was too low. If she did nothing, she would feel that she was too idle and that the days were passing too quickly.
Other wives of officials thought it was normal to make hairpins today, make new clothes tomorrow, put on powder and dress up the day after tomorrow, and buy expensive clothes, but she always thought it was a waste.
This is not a good thing. He likes his wife to change her clothes ten times a day.
So, Jiang Xian said, "Madam, now that our daughter is married, Ning and Ding are still relatively young, so we can both breathe a sigh of relief."
"Yes, you mean this person, busy all day long, and when he really has some free time, he is old, his body is not as flexible, and his legs, feet and waist are not as good as before. You don't know that when I was a child I was very strong and could even carry a large pot of flowers, but now my body hurts if I walk for a long time." Jinniang was also very emotional.
Jiang Xian pressed her lumbar vertebrae with ease and familiarity: "This is a problem that comes with doing needlework as an adult. It's okay. Just take good care of yourself now."
"Then help me wash my hair. I slept for half a day in the afternoon and won't be able to sleep at night anyway." Jinniang pulled his hand and acted coquettishly.
In this case, Jiang Xian of course agreed.
After Jinniang washed and combed her hair, she felt that her whole body was fragrant and she felt comfortable. She could hardly get up the next morning. It was not until noon when she got up that she began to plan her own affairs.
Before her daughter was getting married, she treated this as a career. Now that her daughter is married, she has taken a long break and is ready to find what she wants to do next.
Sure enough, she is a person who can't sit still.
She called Wei Xiong and Luo Yu'e to accompany her to Daxiangguo Temple. It was still the same as before, with many craftsmen selling fashionable patterns.
Luo Yu'e now has rent for the farm every season, and she doesn't like expensive things. Buying some small things is enough for her.
"Jinniang, let me buy you some sugar-roasted chestnuts for the two of us to enjoy."
"Mom, you haven't gotten tired of eating it after all these years." Jinniang said with a smile.
Luo Yu'e said, "How can we get tired of this? Actually, even though your brother has passed the imperial examination, your father and I don't have to worry about money. But we still feel that we are poor people and can't get used to those expensive dishes. We only think that pickled vegetables, radishes and some meat go well with rice."
Jinniang said: "No matter how much you like to eat, you should eat less pickles. Eating too much salt is not good for your health. How wonderful it is for us to be alive. We can eat, drink, have fun, and see the mountains and rivers."
"You're right, Jinniang. I never thought that we would have such a life. It feels like a dream." Luo Yu'e felt it was unrealistic.
Jinniang smiled and shook her head.
Then she saw the man selling picture albums. He was a poor-looking young man. The paintings were quite good. Jinniang spent three strings of coins to buy ten large and small paintings of flowers and birds.
Luo Yu'e was puzzled: "Why did you spend so much money to buy it?"
"In fact, an embroiderer must not only be good at needlework, but also have an excellent draft. I think this person's drawings are not as good as those of the painters in the Hanlin Academy, but they have a unique freshness and naturalness that cannot be found anywhere else. If I embroider them, it will definitely look good." Jinniang's hands are itching.
After coming back from outside, Jinniang started designing the draft. The first person she thought of was Jiang Xian, after all, he had washed his hair with her yesterday.
However, I had no idea how to design his clothes, but I had a lot of ideas when designing my own jacket, because the painting of "Lychees and Magpies" was very well painted. The magpie was painted in emerald green, the leaves were dark green, and the lychees were not the traditional dark red, but a light pink.
Jinniang managed to create such a soft color in just a few days.
Another piece is quite elegant. The edge of the dark green tube top is embroidered with beige camellia, and the outside is a honey-colored double-layer gauze jacket. The highlight is the yellow bird embroidered on the laces of the skirt, which is the finishing touch.
After she finished making the two pieces, she realized that she had not made the one she said she would make for Jiang Xian. After thinking about it, she made a honey-colored cross-collared top for Jiang Xian, and a dark green jacquard silk jacket on the outside. The highlight of his clothes was the collar, which had camellia embroidered on one side and yellow sparrows on the other.
Jiang Xian was delighted and said, "That's perfect. We can wear it together when we attend the Wei family's wedding."
"Do you really want to wear couple outfits together?" Jinniang looked at him with a smile.
Jiang Xian hugged Jinniang: "That's natural."
Jinniang also made a set of couple outfits for her daughter and son-in-law and asked Aying to deliver it on her behalf. This was originally a sudden idea of Jinniang. However, when Yunjie saw the clothes sent by Jinniang, she couldn't help crying.
Both she and her mother-in-law did needlework, but she never thought of doing it with her own mother.
Wei Qilang didn't know all this yet. He only knew that his mother-in-law had made clothes for him. He was so happy that he put them on immediately. But seeing that Yun Jie'er looked unhappy, he asked again: "What's wrong with you?"
Sister Yun shook her head. Some things were hard to say to her husband. She couldn't say that it was bad to respect her mother-in-law.
Wei Qillang thought that his mother-in-law was so good to him and his wife, and his wife was sitting at home in misery, so he told Madam Wei that he wanted to learn from Jiang Xian, and the two of them came back with many bags.
When the two of them came back, Jinniang was helping Luo Yu'e paste the shoe uppers. She wanted to make two pairs of shoes for her parents.
Luo Yu'e's embroidery was done on purple satin with a pattern of fish playing with lotus, while Wei Xiong's embroidery was done on black satin with a pattern of Western flowers.
While Jinniang was pasting the shoe uppers, Luo Yu'e peeled pine nuts and fed them to her daughter one by one. No one expected that her daughter and son-in-law would come back at this time.
Seeing her daughter's eyes full of tears, Jinniang thought that her daughter had been wronged. After further questioning, she found out what happened.
"Oh, my dear daughter, your grandmother and I went out to play and bought some paintings, so I thought of you. You really are so kind..." But no matter what, Jinniang was very happy. As the saying goes, although you raise children without expecting anything in return, you are still very happy because they care about you.
Luo Yu'e was so moved that she shed tears and said, "Uncle Sun is still a good person. He knew you missed home without you even telling him, and he brought you back specially."
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