Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Two chapters merged into one
Jinniang finally finished copying the scriptures in her spare time. She delivered them to the second room personally. Perhaps because she had saved Wu's child, every time she came, Wu would see her.
Today was no exception, except that Mrs. Wu leaned back on the couch and looked like she was having a very difficult pregnancy.
"I pay my respects to the Second Madam. I have finished copying this volume of scriptures." She raised her hands above her head.
Wu asked the maid beside her to take it, and said with a smile, "Come closer and talk."
Jinniang stepped forward and saw Wu like this. She couldn't help but ask, "How is the Second Madam? Why do you look a little weak?"
"It's nothing. It's just that Qin Ge had a fever and coughed yesterday, and I took care of him for half the night." Mrs. Wu was already in her thirties and her body was not able to bear it.
Jinniang advised: "The Second Madam is pregnant now, so she should take care of herself. I wonder how the Fourth Young Master is doing?"
Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "It's just a minor illness."
Jinniang asked one more question, and saw an old woman come in and talk about Qin'er. Everything she said seemed to be for Qin'er's benefit, but Jinniang recognized her. She was the old woman who had talked to Miao Xiaoniang behind the rockery.
Yanhong's child died in this inner house. Otherwise, she was obviously pregnant, so how could it end up like that? I'm afraid it has something to do with Miao Xiaoniang.
Jinniang waited for the old woman to leave, and after a moment of thought, she was ready to speak: "Second Madam, I think this scripture is very helpful in eliminating illness and karma. Can I read it to you in private? Otherwise, I will be out of the house in a few days, and I am afraid I won't be able to read it to you again."
Based on Wu's judgment of Jinniang, she is a very sensible girl who would never take advantage of the fact that she saved her brother. It seems that she wants to say something at this moment. Could it be that she wants to make money because her family is in financial difficulty? This is inevitable. It is normal for a girl of her age to come from a poor family.
Therefore, Wu dismissed the servants.
Jinniang used her hand to write the word "Miao" on the table with tea, and then said, "Before the eldest young master died, I was delivering something one day and saw that nanny and this one were secretly talking together."
Wu was shocked.
"Madam, I will start reciting the scriptures." Jinniang picked up the scriptures, wiped off the water stains, and really started reciting.
This made Mrs. Wu want to ask a few more questions, but she couldn't. However, she understood Jinniang's dilemma, after all, she was a servant in the eldest wife's house. If Miao Xiaoniang knew what she said, it would be difficult to deal with her.
After reading the scripture, Jinniang smiled and said, "I am busy in the sewing room, so I will go back first."
"Wait a moment." Wu didn't ask any more questions and wanted to reward her with a silver ingot, but Jinniang refused.
"I have copied one volume, and you just need to give me one hundred dollars. My parents are coming to Tokyo. If there is any inconvenience in the future, I would like to ask for your help. I will be very grateful." Jinniang said this not to ask for a reward, but for her own conscience.
Wu smiled and said, "You are a very clear-headed child."
But she did not follow Jinniang's lead. Although she did not give Yin Ting, she gave her two gold hairpins and said, "It is not easy to live in Bianjing. When you go out, you will need to spend money on firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea. Outfits are also very important."
Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Jinniang accepted it.
After returning to the sewing room, before she had even taken a few bites of her meal, she heard that her mother was waiting for her at the west corner gate. Jinniang hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of food and only then did she realize that her mother had done such a big thing in just over a month.
"You really pawned a house?"
"Of course I'm here to ask you what kind of furniture you like. Do you want a ceiling cabinet or a wall cabinet? And for the desk, do you want a desk with a raised head or a square table with a bookcase?" Luo Yu'e thought that if she had money, she would definitely prepare a better boudoir for her daughter.
Jinniang immediately said, "I want to bring the kind with a bookcase. But do you have enough money?"
Luo Yu'e scratched her head: "Luckily I stopped him, your father used it more than I wanted."
"Mother, I'll give you ten strings of coins for your daily necessities. I'll also go get some cloth, candles, and iron soup bottles." She knew very well that it was unwise for the pawnshop to spend all the money, but her parents were just like that. They were not necessarily wise and brave people, and they even had many shortcomings. Sometimes they even favored boys over girls, but after all, they loved her very much.
Whether she wanted to study, be an embroiderer, or even take the entrance exam for the Wenxiu Academy, they asked them to come to Bian Jing, and they would satisfy her no matter what she wanted to do.
Luo Yu'e saw her take out the things and asked more questions. Jinniang explained, "This iron soup bottle is for hot water, which can keep it warm and avoid wasting firewood. There are also these candles for family use, and a set of four treasures for my brother. In addition, mother, my brother's studies are more important, and my furniture and other things can be put on the back burner. Anyway, I still have a few months before I go back."
If a man wants to fulfill his life's ambition, he should study the Six Classics diligently in front of the window.
If she were a man, she would definitely study.
"His job is easy to handle. You have to buy the furniture in advance. You can keep the money for yourself. After these few busy days, your father and I will go find a job." Luo Yu'e had already thought of a solution.
Jinniang shook her head: "Mother, you said before that you and my father were going to find a shop to do business. You can go to the money shop to take out these ten strings of money. If it is not enough, you can ask me for some more. You are too old to be a big uncle and a glutinous rice bowl, and you still have to endure the bullying. Oh, by the way, I have one and a half taels of silver here."
"It's too much. I don't want it." Luo Yu'e waved her hand quickly.
It was Jinniang who forced it on her before Luo Yu'e accepted it. She then mentioned Feng Sheng's disapproval: "Your brother-in-law has been scolding us a lot, as if he looks down on us. However, since he said that, it's better to let your eldest sister come over. It's better than your second uncle's family."
It was not the first time that Jinniang knew what kind of personality Feng Sheng had. He was a man who looked up to others. In modern terms, he was a sophisticated egoist. He hated stupidity and liked fatherly guidance.
It's not that bad.
Jinniang only said, "I seldom interact with them in Bianjing. Every time I go there, I come with nothing. They always ask me to go, and they don't treat me specially. Mother, don't think that you can support each other just because you have many relatives. We should rely on ourselves. There are always people who are better than you. He looks down on us, but there are also people who look down on him."
For some reason, Luo Yu'e might not listen to what others said, but she thought what Jinniang said made sense. After returning home, he said to Wei Xiong, "Mrs. Jin gave me fifteen taels, which is her monthly salary for a year. Tomorrow we will ask a carpenter to make the pattern our daughter requested, and then find a primary school for our son."
Wei Xiong said cheerfully: "Oh, that's great. I was saying that I didn't have enough money and I haven't found a shop yet."
"We'll talk about the shop later. I did business for a year last year, and helped my brother for a year the year before. I'm exhausted, and I took the long journey to Bian Jing." Luo Yu'e was thin and her stomach had always been in poor health.
Wei Xiong at home seems to be very diligent, but he doesn't use his brain. Luo Yu'e is a little smarter, but her health is not very good, and now she only wants her daughter to come back and help her take good care of herself, and she can think about other things later.
Thinking of this, she took out the iron soup bottle and said, "My daughter said that we can use this to store hot tea. It will stay hot for two or three days. This will save a lot of firewood. Hurry up and chop the firewood. Let's try it now."
Wei Xiong wanted to play dead, but Luo Yu'e kicked him and he immediately got up and went to the new kitchen to boil water.
Luo Yu'e laughed loudly and said to Yang Ge'er, "Your sister wants you to go to school quickly..."
Yang Ge'er looked outside and said, "Mom, it's raining outside. My son wants to play at home."
"You..." She never had a temper with her children.
Feng Sheng was still afraid of people borrowing money, but Rong Niang came back and said, "Second Aunt said Jin Niang gave them more than ten strings of cash. When I went there, they were taking Yang Ge'er to elementary school."
Feng Sheng curled his lips: "Your sister is not very good-looking, and doesn't earn much, but she still brings the money home to spend..."
Rong Niang thought to herself that no matter what, Sister Jinniang was still very happy. Even though her second uncle and his wife had many faults, they were good to their children.
Jinniang thought so too. Her parents were by her side, giving her strong psychological support, so her condition improved a lot.
Madam Chen and the others also finished their work ahead of time. Jiang rewarded each of them with a hundred coins. Jinniang and the others slept for several days and nights before they recovered.
At this time, there was only one month left before the eldest girl got married. Qin Shuang'er went to the third room in advance. She had no attachment to the needlework room and just left. However, Madam Chen called her over and helped her change the living contract into a dead contract.
Even Fang Qiaolian felt that it was not worth it: "If it is a death contract, she will not be able to get such monthly salary in the future."
"What can we do? She wants to do it herself." Even if Jinniang is trying to persuade others, they have to be willing to listen.
Fang Qiaolian looked at Jinniang again: "You are the best. Your parents have come to Bianjing. In the future, you will all be Bianjing citizens."
Maybe there is only one month left, and no one needs to hide anymore. Jinniang also smiled and said, "Qiao Lian, will you still go to Shu Embroidery Workshop in the future?"
Fang Qiao Lian shook her head: "Before I came to Beijing, my family had already arranged a marriage for me. My fiancé works as a bailiff in the Jiangling government office." If she was not sure that Jinniang would not return to Jiangling, she would not have said this.
Yasi were clerks in the yamen. Although they were looked down upon by the scholar-official class, they also belonged to the official class and enjoyed the privilege of exemption from military service. They wore long gowns (although only black), and like scholars they could tie a long Confucian belt and wear boots. Clerks also held certain powers. After serving for a certain number of years and being assessed as having no faults on the job, they could be promoted to officials.
The Yashi was a very powerful person in the local area, and Jinniang quickly congratulated him, "Congratulations on your happy marriage."
Here she was very clear that Fang Qiaolian helped Madam He to be the insider, just like why the third son of the He family could get rid of Mei Pan'er, to find out the preferences of the second young lady, to see if the Zhou family was really wealthy, and whether the second young lady had any hidden illness...
But the reward for doing all this is that she can marry into a bailiff's family. She has the skill of embroidery and is familiar with the Zhou family. With the support of the He family, she will have a very comfortable life in the future.
Fang Qiao Lian smiled and said, "It was arranged by the adults. What do I have? He was just a minor official in the government office before."
"I won't say much more. Anyway, I just wish you peace and safety in the future, a happy marriage, and a baby soon." Jinniang laughed.
Fang Qiaolian wanted to go up to her and tickle her, but Jinniang quickly dodged, laughing so hard that tears were about to come out.
The two were arguing when a strange maid came in and asked, "Is Miss Chen here? Second Madam needs her over for something."
Jinniang said in a serious tone, "Mrs. Chen is in the front wing."
The maid went out again.
Jinniang said to Fang Qiaolian, "Are you going to let us make clothes for the last month?"
"I heard that doing needlework makes me dizzy now." Fang Qiao Lian declined.
Jinniang spread her hands: "There's nothing we can do about it. Maybe when we get out, we won't be controlled by others like this all the time."
Isn’t freedom the most important thing in life?
Without freedom, what good is it even if you have power and wealth? If you keep saying and doing things against your will all day long, what good is that?
Sure enough, the Second Madam asked Chen Niangzi to make clothes for Zhou Cunzhi. It was said that they had originally asked a tailor outside to make clothes for her, but Zhou Cunzhi thought the clothes were too tacky and the tailor's skills were poor. He had not asked them before because he knew that they were rushing to make clothes for the bride. Now that the dowry had been embroidered, he asked his family to help make them.
Mrs. Chen said that she was sick. Although she was not very old, she was under too much pressure and had problems with her waist. After the operation, she lay in bed and couldn't get up.
This job fell to Jinniang, after all, she was the only person who had ever made clothes for Zhou Cunzhi.
In fact, after two days of rest, Jinniang was already full of energy. She had already measured her size last time, so she didn't need to go again. Since the Second Master and the Second Mistress didn't say anything, Jinniang was free to express herself. In her mind, a man with such an outspoken personality as Zhou Cunzhi was most suitable to wear a red robe. The round-necked satin jacket had satin on the chest and round flowers embroidered on the shoulders. The robe was slit on both sides, which made his tall stature appear even more prominent.
Fang Qiaolian saw Jinniang start printing with the mold after a brief thought, and she seemed to have an idea right away. She couldn't help but ask, "Can you start again?"
"Yes." Jinniang felt that she had no creative bottleneck. As long as it was something she wanted to do, she would immediately become interested in it.
Fang Qiaolian said: "I really admire you, you are really amazing."
Jinniang shook her head: "It's far from being a real master."
She even wondered what Zhou Cunzhi would think if he wore this? It's time to make a life garment that belongs to him.
It would be great if she could open a store and run it all by herself.
Just thinking about it, I cut out the clothes in the morning and went to play with Lan Xue at noon. Just then she said that there were guests at home, so Jinniang helped her order tea. Although she was still not good at wielding the dagger in the end, she was quite familiar with ordering tea in the beginning.
"Who is coming? Why are you so grand?" Jinniang had never heard that any guests were coming.
Lan Xue said, "It seems that the young master of the Jiang family has come. Don't you know that our Second Master and Mr. Jiang have a very good relationship? They even went to the literary gathering together."
"It seems that the events in life are really unpredictable." Although the eldest daughter was going to marry into the prime minister's family, Mr. Wang Sanlang failed in his studies. The second daughter married Mr. He Sanlang, who was originally a cousin. The He family had a lower official position than the Zhou family. Normally, the Zhou family could control the He family for life, but the He family had the leverage over the second daughter. Even Miao Xiaoniang made a big fuss and gave birth to a little boy, but in the end the third girl married the best.
He was from a family of officials, handsome and well-educated.
Lan Xue smiled and said, "You, don't just look at the outside. You don't know that this Jiang Langjun is the biological son of Jiang Liuye in Beijing. His family originally had three sons, and Jiang Langjun was the second. The sixth master failed the imperial examinations many times, so Jiang Erlangjun went to Hangzhou to study and adopted himself. Jiang Liuye and his wife didn't agree at first, but later they agreed under pressure from the clan."
Jinniang exclaimed: "There is another one. This man is really cruel. If you ask me, a nest of gold or silver is not as good as my own doghouse."
No matter how poor her home is, it is still her home. No matter how good other people's homes are, they are still other people's homes.
Lan Xue took the tea she ordered and held the dagger, saying, "That's why I said there's a lot of water here. He can even abandon his own parents and brothers. If he becomes successful in the future, what can he not abandon?"
That’s right, Jinniang thought.
Miao Xiaoniang also said the same thing to the fourth girl. She also said, "You are not a child anymore. You should pay more attention. As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person. You should also do some needlework for your father more often."
"Okay, daughter is making shoes for daddy." The fourth girl could subtly feel that Miao Xiaoniang's words were different from before. In the past, she wanted her to go to the eldest lady more often, but now she just wanted her to please her father.
Could it be that at this time it was discovered that the eldest lady had given all her dowries to her two elder sisters?
It seems so.
Hearing her daughter say this, Miao Xiaoniang felt a little relieved: "That's great."
Master Zhou would not sit idle. After Yanhong fell ill, Jiang did not arrange anyone to take care of her. However, the second master could not bear to see his brother become a widower, so he immediately bought a pair of stunning twin dancers for her brother. It is said that he spent nearly one thousand taels on each dancer.
Although those two have not yet had a formal status, they are younger and more favored than Miao Xiaoniang. Miao Xiaoniang knows that although she can still get some favor now, her beauty has already ended but the favor has already ended.
Fortunately, she made proper arrangements. If something happened to Qin Ge'er, Wu's pregnancy was already in bad condition, and there might be three deaths.
The Fourth Young Lady knew that Miao Xiaoniang should have started to make arrangements. In fact, she would not have done so if everyone in the mansion had not turned a blind eye to Miao Xiaoniang. The First Lady would rather let Lu Xiaoniang be the housekeeper than let her own young lady be in charge. It was obvious that her mother was trying so hard to please her, opening the curtains, washing her feet, and even helping her when the Second Young Master made his father angry.
She had read the book. If Wu herself was not as stupid as a pig and unable to control her subordinates, how could she be easily bribed?
In this world, if you give others a way to survive, how could they possibly do that?
Besides, speaking of evil, the Second Master is a hundred times more disgusting than the young lady. They all hate the fact that Young Lady Miao climbs into bed, but the Second Master personally gave his beautiful concubine to the First Master, and also gave his beautiful maid to his third cousin, and no one criticized him? Even someone as strong-willed as the eldest lady said nothing.
However, the fourth girl did not want her mother to be like in her previous life, so she advised: "Mother, the men in our family are all scholars. I heard that Prime Minister Han Qi was a concubine's son, and he finally asked for a title for his mother. You don't have to worry about the moment, as long as you train your brother well, you will not be inferior to anyone in the future."
Miao Xiaoniang smiled and said, "I trust your brother." But she knew very well that it was too difficult, and she didn't trust what would happen in the future.
Moreover, even if they became Jinshi, many poor Jinshi still had to go to the second master's seal shop to borrow money so that they could buy nice clothes when they went out.
My daughter is too old to know that it is not easy to be an official. Look, my aunt is not married to a Jinshi, and she has no wealth. What will be her final fate? Money is the most important thing.
The fourth girl didn't know what to say.
But when Miao Xiaoniang thought she was very brave, she found out that the old woman she arranged was actually driven out, and even the other wet nurse beside Qin Ge'er was replaced.
The fourth young lady also heard about it. It was said that Wu felt that the two of them were not taking good care of their child, and that she played with Qin'er by strangling his neck with a cloth strip, which almost made him suffocate.
It was said that the old woman was nearly beaten to death, and he just bit her with one bite, not intentionally.
He was handed over to the authorities by the second master on charges of intentional murder.
What impressed the fourth girl was that from beginning to end, she never revealed that it was Miao Xiaoniang who did it. Miao Xiaoniang was not worried at all because this woman's daughter was beautiful and was originally the eldest master's concubine. After the eldest master died, she reported Deng Xiaoniang, but she was still harassed by some bullies and hooligans when she went out. Of course, these people were arranged by Miao Xiaoniang's brother, who arranged people to harass her and then rescue her daughter. Now the old woman's daughter has married the family she introduced. If the old woman tells the truth, she will have to consider what will happen to her daughter.
Such a secret matter would be very difficult to investigate later. Wu only found a bag of silver in the old woman's house, but this silver could not prove that it was done by Miao Xiaoniang.
Mrs. Wu touched her belly and thought about checking on Miao Xiaoniang after she gave birth. However, she didn't know that Miao Xiaoniang was pregnant again.
…
After the Zhou family got into such a mess, Jinniang also breathed a sigh of relief. In any case, the old woman was sent away and Qin'er was safe.
Jinniang's clothes were also ready, and someone sent them to Zhou Cunzhi. After Zhou Cunzhi tried on the clothes, he took them off immediately: "If I put them on, people who don't know me would think I'm a woman."
The servant suppressed his laughter and said, "I think this one is nice."
"Who did this?" Zhou Cunzhi was very dissatisfied.
The servant said, "It's Jinniang from the sewing room. Her sewing skills are impeccable. When I took it, she even told me that she spent a lot of time and effort on making this round flower."
Zhou Cunzhi was almost mad: "Does this fat girl think of me as her toy? She's doing this."
The servant shrank his neck in fear.
"Go and call her over to me." Zhou Cunzhi gritted his teeth. These were the clothes he was going to wear when he went to the prime minister's house to present his manuscript, and they were all ruined.
Jinniang came over quickly. Seeing Zhou Cunzhi was angry, she said quickly, "Second Young Master, don't be angry. When I was making this dress, I was reading the Book of Songs that Second Madam gave me. I happened to turn to "Qi Feng·Yi Jie". The first line of Yi Jie says, 'You are tall and straight. You are tall and straight, with beautiful eyes.' Isn't that you? Those colors that are too light seem bland and boring. On the contrary, when you wear red, doesn't it mean 'a courtyard full of red crabapples under the waning moon'? It makes you stand out even more."
As she spoke, she saw Zhou Cunzhi curl his lips and realized that she had succeeded.
Sure enough, Zhou Cunzhi said: "You are right, but you have to ask my opinion before making clothes in the future."
Jinniang nodded hesitantly, and thought to herself, I will be leaving the Zhou Mansion in a few days, and you won't be able to find me to make clothes for you even if you want to, huh.
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