Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Old Stories in Zhou Mansion
When Jinniang came back, Qin Shuang'er saw her carrying a bag and asked sourly, "Why did you take so long? What did the eldest lady give you as a reward?"
"It wasn't a reward from the eldest lady. I was sent to the second chamber by sister Yanhong on the way. The second lady said that what I was wearing was dusty, so she asked the sister beside her to pick up a piece of clothing for me." Jinniang didn't tell her about the gold earrings that the eldest lady rewarded her, for fear that Qin Shuang'er would be jealous again. By then, even Fang Qiaolian would be jealous of her.
In ancient times, a jacket could be pawned for several hundred dollars at a pawnshop. Except for the aunt, the masters of the Zhou family were all very well off. Her family did not give her any dowry. Her younger brother had to go to school when he grew up, so she had to earn the dowry herself.
Thinking of this, she fell on the bed and deliberately said, "I wish I were as slim as you guys. Oh, forget it. I don't want to eat today."
Qin Shuang'er was afraid that Jinniang would stand out, so she quickly said, "Don't do that. We have so much work to do. If you don't eat, you might faint from hunger. I've just added a dish of pork ribs with preserved plums. It would be a waste if you don't eat it."
"Then I'll eat it." Jinniang quickly pretended to be greedy.
Qin Shuang'er then smiled and said, "That's good. I think you're cute with some flesh on you. Everyone likes people who are blessed. Who likes pork ribs..."
Jinniang looked as if she was flattered to the point of being lost, and said shyly, "My mother also said that I was born lucky."
Qin Shuang'er was almost nauseated to the point of vomiting. She was still trying to pretend to be nice. She felt she couldn't stand what she said, so she went out to the toilet and get some fresh air.
After she left, Fang Qiaolian said to Jinniang tactfully, "You really should dress neatly. Respect the clothes first and then respect the people. Don't you and I understand this principle in the embroidery workshop?"
Normally, Jinniang is a talkative person and the best embroidery worker among them. She also has some wisdom, but her figure is not as good as theirs. So this time her words revealed her inferiority complex, and they naturally felt superior.
When Jinniang heard her say that, she looked at Fang Qiaolian with envy: "I can't wear that tight one either. It's wrapped like a meat dumpling."
It is also said that the three of them had not finished their meal when they received the news that the eldest son of the second house, Zhou Duzhi, had passed away. Jinniang was not surprised. If Young Master Zhou was not really dying, why did Miao Xiaoniang suddenly come out today? This Miao Xiaoniang was well-informed, but no one knew what conspiracy she and that old woman had.
This was the Second House's business and had nothing to do with the First House's sewing room, but Madam Chen was a capable person who could do anything for weddings and funerals. Today, Jiang asked her to go over and make mourning clothes.
Madam Chen said to the three of them, "We servants have almost finished making clothes. The eldest lady said that we should put them aside for now because the funeral of the second wife is more important. But you also know that Miao Xiaoniang's swaddling clothes and quilts need to be made. In addition, Miao Xiaoniang is pregnant, so she needs to make two more sets of clothes. Let's divide the work. In the future, I will give Miao Xiaoniang and the fourth lady's work to her."
One is happy and the other is sad, but the second house is rich, and Miao Xiaoniang’s reward is limited.
Jinniang said without thinking: "I will definitely follow you. I only have the last piece of clothing to hem, so there is no need to worry about things here."
This is how she usually does things. If others give her two months to complete a task, she will definitely finish it ahead of time. She would rather finish early and take a rest than to finish it to the last minute.
"Then I'll go with Jinniang." Fang Qiao Lian was not stupid either.
Qin Shuang'er said, "Madam Chen, why don't we all go together?" She also wanted to go, as the second wife was a rich family.
"Madam Chen, why don't we go there first. If we can't handle it, let Sister Shan come back and let her relax for a few days." Jinniang didn't care about her sister anymore and was only thinking about Sister Jiang Shan.
Madam Chen nodded: "That's a good idea." Then she nodded at Qin Shuang'er: "We can advance and retreat together this way."
"Yes." Qin Shuang'er smiled and didn't dare to say anything else.
But in her heart she looked down on them. Madam Chen was so old and still had to make a living. She heard that her husband used her hard-earned money to sleep with prostitutes outside or had affairs with widows. She was just older than herself, so she could get such high wages. When she reached Madam Chen's age in the future, she might be able to do the same.
When she becomes a mother in the future and has a child like Miao, she won't have to work so hard.
After everyone finished discussing, they took needles, thread and scissors and went to the second room. They saw that the second room had already simply decorated the mourning hall. Zhou Duzhi's widow, Grandma Du, and her daughter were crying so hard that they almost fainted. Jinniang followed Chen Niang to see Mrs. Wu again, but they met a tall young man at the door. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a handsome face, elegant and free-spirited manners. She guessed who he was by looking at his clothes.
Because the clothes she was wearing were made by Madam Chen, this should be Jiang's son Zhou Cunzhi, the eldest son of the first wife.
As expected, Madam Chen quickly asked them to bow: "Hurry up and pay your respects to Master Cun."
Zhou Cunzhi didn't look at them and just walked away. Jinniang just admired them for a moment, just like looking at a flower, she looked at it for a while longer and then went on doing what she had to do.
Unexpectedly, Qin Shuang'er and Fang Qiaolian both blushed. However, Fang Qiaolian was smart and knew that they could only watch such a person from afar. Only Qin Shuang'er had always wanted to be a roommate, and when she saw Zhou Cunzhi today, her mind had already drifted away.
She is already fourteen years old, which is the age when a girl is in love and can hardly control her emotions. Seeing a young man like this, how could she not have some fantasies.
Jinniang didn't think it was a big deal on this point. She was a person who dealt with things based on facts. She thought it was normal for Qin Shuang'er to curry favor with others. She just didn't like the fact that she didn't put in any effort but always thought she was smart and took advantage of others. She hated it. But it is normal for a maid to want to be a mistress, and they cannot find a job like modern people.
But you have to do this with the consent of the mistress of the couple, otherwise it is immoral to destroy the couple's relationship without permission.
Or it may be understandable for a pretty girl without any skills to do this, but they all have skills and can at least have food and clothing by relying on their skills, but it is not good to still think about being lazy and being a maid.
So Fang Qiaolian said to her, "I think Qin Shuang'er is wishful thinking."
"Those maids around the Second Young Master are not easy to mess with." Jinniang shook her head.
Zhou Duzhi's funeral was held in a grand manner. Although Mrs. Wu was also in charge of the funeral because she was pregnant, she was unable to do so. So she simply invited Mrs. Xi to help. The two sisters-in-law had always had a good relationship.
However, she didn't know that the fourth girl came with her sisters, and when she saw Xi, she secretly cursed her as a lackey. If she hadn't spread rumors that her own mother was restless, Miao would not have been bullied by Deng.
When Xi entered the house, she first warned Wu: "The cause of my brother's death last time was strange. You must be more careful this time. I don't know what villain has harmed him again." Although her husband was born out of wedlock, his conditions were much better than hers. The reason he married her was that he already had a woman he liked before marriage, and they had a child, so he had no choice but to marry her.
After she got married, she was often bullied by her husband's favorite concubine, neglected by her husband, and disliked by her mother-in-law. It was her second sister-in-law who stood up for her, and only her second sister-in-law often cared about her, so the relationship between the two of them was closer than that between Jiang and her, better than that between real sisters.
"Don't worry, I have been prepared this time. I have already arranged people at Deng's place." Wu whispered.
The second master has three concubines. The oldest, Huang, is the maid of the first wife, Li. She is now well-behaved. There is also a young lady named Zhu, who married in because she was afraid of being eaten up by others. She is a person who builds bridges and stirs up trouble. However, these two are not favored very much. Only Deng is very suspicious...
But Deng Xiaoniang is good at romance, and the Second Master cannot do without her. She always argues when being unreasonable, and it is difficult to touch her if you don't have solid evidence.
Xi nodded: "That's great." After that, she continued: "Qiuhong is also pregnant over there? I heard that she stayed at home to take care of the baby."
"Pay attention to her." Mrs. Wu didn't want to mention her at all.
Back then, Miao Xiaoniang was just a maid in the third wife's house. Because Xi was bullied by the favorite concubine for many years, all the people serving her had affairs with other wives, and Miao Xiaoniang was no exception. She would always flirt with the favorite concubine and pass on news from the main wife.
Later, Xi wanted to win favor. After giving birth to her son Zhou Shenzhi, although she was not favored, her position as the main wife was consolidated. Naturally, she had to get rid of a group of people who had previously had estranged intentions. The favored concubine took the opportunity to promote Miao Xiaoniang to compete with her, because the favored concubine knew that Miao Xiaoniang was a useless child, so she would disgust her as much as possible.
Xi asked Wu to take Miao Xiaoniang over to her so that her plan of favoring a concubine would fail. After Miao Xiaoniang went to the second room, Wu did not make things difficult for her and just sent her to the warehouse. Miao Xiaoniang was quite ambitious. When she heard that the new Deng Xiaoniang was favored, she somehow went to Deng Xiaoniang's place. She thought herself clever and said in front of Deng Xiaoniang that she was sent by the Third Lady to serve the Second Lady, in order to show that her status was not ordinary. Unexpectedly, Deng Xiaoniang hated her even more. She felt that except for her inferior birth to Wu, she was better than Wu in all other aspects. She found fault with her for no reason and scolded her harshly.
But Wu had heard it several times and warned Deng Xiaoniang. Deng Xiaoniang agreed on the surface but cursed her even more harshly behind her back. When the second master came to Deng Xiaoniang's place, he looked at Miao Xiaoniang a few more times. Deng Xiaoniang had been living on the favor of the male master, so how could she let others take away his favor? At first he just scolded her, and later he made her kneel down, and beating her was also a common occurrence.
Miao Xiaoniang could not stand such beatings and scoldings. She was skilled and courageous, so she had to find another way. When the eldest master came to the second room for a drink, she changed into a servant's clothes to avoid being seen by everyone, and went in to have a romantic moment with the eldest master. She was wild and beautiful. She was good at climbing on the rockery, in the Buddhist temple, in the woods by the lake, and was good at doing things like climbing on a horse, sitting on a lotus, and playing the flute. They were everywhere. Later, she became pregnant and moved into the main room.
In Wu's view, it's okay for you to go to the first house, and she doesn't care. But Miao Xiaoniang insists on considering the second house as her own family, as if it was her uncle's house that Wu sent her to. Naturally, Wu had to draw a clear line.
Therefore, Mrs. Wu was unwilling to mention Miao Xiaoniang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
