Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Two chapters merged into one
After returning from the second young master, Jinniang just received a letter brought by Cheng Ya's man. The Wenxiuyuan had posted a notice asking Jinniang to write a description of her role. If she didn't know how to write it, she could pay two hundred coins to have someone write it for her.
The so-called "role statement" is similar to a resume. It requires clearly stating one's hometown, household registration, titles for three generations, family, age, and previous positions. Of course, Jinniang does not need to spend money on this.
She wrote from right to left: Wei Jinniang, fifteen years old, born on June 8th, her mother’s surname is Luo. He started another line and wrote, "Ju Qingxia, has one younger brother, Lu Zu is deceased, grandfather is deceased, father was originally a soldier in Shaanxi imperial guards, originally from Jiangling prefecture city, now living in Kaifeng prefecture city, father is a householder." She used to be an embroiderer at Shu Embroidery Pavilion, and was good at Shu embroidery of flowers and birds. Later, she worked in the Privy Council's Chengzhi Mansion, and her term of service has expired.
The Wenxiuyuan was located in the outer departments, which were outside the imperial palace. The left and right Jinwu departments, the cheese department, the east and west workshops, the silk and brocade department, the military equipment department, etc. were all outside the palace together with the Wenxiuyuan.
Their information had to be reviewed first. Jinniang thought she could use her time at Zhou's house to make some purses and sachets, and she would definitely have to see their needlework skills at that time.
No matter what, she would prepare first.
Ten days later, Cheng Ya Ren asked someone to come and ask her to do some needlework so that she could participate in the preliminary selection. Jinniang took out the needlework sachet she had made and rewarded the idle man who ran errands with twenty cents.
In fact, the treatment at the Wenxiu Academy is average, but with the gilding from the Wenxiu Academy, her future embroidery career will be smoother.
The day before the eldest girl's wedding, the dowry began to be delivered. The second and third wives sent their servants to help carry it, and Jinniang and the others ran to the second gate to take a look.
Jinniang's eyes were only on the embroidery pieces. Under the setting sun, all kinds of complicated embroidery techniques were gathered here. She murmured, "I embroidered those."
"When the lady carried these embroidered pieces out of our needlework room, many people gathered around to watch, and they all said that our quilts were embroidered very well." Fang Qiao Lian also felt deeply moved.
Jin Niang smiled and said, "You haven't seen the embroidered clothes made by Chen Niang. They are really beautiful."
A bright red wedding dress was placed on the shelf in the eldest girl's room. Madam Chen was best at making shawls. This time, she made a red shawl embroidered with "Scenery of the Year" specifically for the eldest girl. At that time, people often called their married couples "red men and green women". However, she did not make a green wedding dress, but used green silk for the bodice, and the shawl had a red background and green embroidery with "Scenery of the Year", which made the embroidered dress look grand and elegant.
As expected of an embroiderer from the Wenxiu Academy, she used wide-sleeved clothes and abandoned the long jacket style.
Along with the eldest girl's dowry, her wet nurse and maid went there to make the bed a day in advance. Mrs. Wang also brought her daughters-in-law to see her. The third daughter-in-law's family background was not as good as the previous two, but her dowry was very generous.
Even the wedding quilt in the new house, especially the quilt cover with mandarin ducks playing in the water, is embroidered so beautifully.
In fact, Fang Qiaolian had once embroidered a dragon and a phoenix, but Jiang felt it was too conventional and had no highlights after seeing it. Then Jinniang's embroidery was different. The mandarin ducks she embroidered had a lively and bright feeling, and the whole quilt cover looked like a painting.
Of course Jinniang didn't know about these things. She had even had her ideas copied by Chen Niang, but Chen Niang's craftsmanship was better and her work was even better than hers.
In the sewing room, Jinniang and Fang Qiaolian have already started packing. After the wedding banquet tomorrow, Chen Niang and her family will take a boat back to Jiangling, while Jinniang will go home. She has saved more than 100 strings of cash in the past few years, and gave 15 taels to her family, so she still has 102 strings of cash in her hand. In addition, there were six rolls of silk and satin, two pieces of gauze, ten pairs of incense and candles, three pounds of high-quality tea, half a box of silk and wool thread, ten handkerchiefs, two gold hairpins, a pair of pearl hairpins, a pair of pearl flowers, three pairs of earrings, seven rings, a box of velvet flowers and silk flowers, and three silver hairpins.
As for clothes, I have two boxes made of padded, cotton, silk, satin, damask and gauze over the past three years.
She called Si'er over again and left a book of patterns for her: "This is the pattern I drew every day. If you don't know what to embroider, just follow this. Now that you know how to cut, I don't worry anymore."
"Sister Jinniang, it would be great if you were here." Si'er clung to her tightly like a baby bird.
Jinniang smiled and said, "All good things must come to an end. If I stay here all the time, you won't be able to get out of here. Who knows, maybe we can meet again in the future. My parents are also in Bianjing now, so we will meet again one day."
Si'er was still reluctant to let go, so Jinniang took out a few outfits from her own album and gave them to her: "This is the outfit I drew before. If you don't know how to match them, you can refer to them. But I think you are so smart, you will definitely be better than me in the future."
"Thank you, Sister Jinniang." Si'er wiped away her tears.
Jinniang also wiped her tears with a handkerchief: "No matter if the needlework shop exists or not in the future, you have these skills, and you can make a way for yourself no matter where you are."
Lan Xue, Ruicao, Luying, Hu Saozi, and Zhen'er all asked the kitchen to prepare dishes for their farewell party. They didn't want Jinniang to do anything. Jinniang crossed her arms and said, "Okay, I'll enjoy it for a day today."
The maids were making a noise in the room. The Zhou family had also gathered together today and were having dinner at the old lady's place. Mrs. Wu, who was about to give birth, also came over. Miss Zhou looked at everyone, and somehow her eyes became sore. Madam Jiang couldn't help but wipe her tears with a handkerchief: "Don't cry on a good day. Your brother will send you to the bridal sedan tomorrow."
The old lady smiled and said, "Yes, the Wang family is not far from us, and it will be cheap to go home in the future."
But Jiang said: "You must be filial to your parents-in-law and respect your sister-in-law in your husband's family. Living a good life is better than anything else."
She did not agree that her family should always provide for her. Just like herself, the Jiang family was a family of officials. Whether she could live a good life in the end depended on herself. Even your husband’s family can’t control you so much. Once you get married, you belong to them.
Since you can't stand on your own and always want to rely on your mother's family, that can only help temporarily.
Miss Zhou nodded. She knew very well that everyone in her family had made great efforts in this marriage, and she also wanted to set an example for her younger sisters and maintain the relationship between the two families.
Among the girls present, except the Fourth Girl and Mei Pan'er, the rest had already been engaged. It just so happened that the Fourth Girl and Mei Pan'er had a good relationship. The old lady is old and has not been out socializing for a long time, so she has to rely on Jiang to help. The marriage that Jiang has arranged for the third girl is a very good one.
She always felt that Jiang was not satisfied, but she didn't know that Jiang felt that she had done her best. The third daughter of the first wife had just talked about marriage, and the eldest daughter was about to get married. After the eldest daughter got married, the second daughter was also going to get married. How could she care about the cousin?
After the banquet, the old lady drank some wine, lay on the couch, and sighed softly.
Mother Dong, who had served the old lady since she was a child, stepped forward and said, "What's wrong with the old lady? You can't bear to part with your eldest daughter. I don't think you should be reluctant to part with her. After all, this is a perfect marriage that others can't even ask for."
Mother Dong was also a smart person. She knew that the old lady was still complaining about the first lady, but some things were hard to say, so she could only give other ideas: "Old lady, our cousin is actually not young anymore. You should not miss the person in front of you."
The old lady was puzzled: "You old fool, why don't you say what you want to say nicely."
"The Han family is still in mourning. Although the seventh son of his family has no father or mother, Uncle Han is kind and will give some money and land to him in the future. The boy is good at studying, so why not let the two families get married?" Mother Dong said.
But the old lady waved her hand and said, "No, Han Qilang has great ambitions. He will never marry unless he passes the imperial examination. Our Pan'er can't wait. Besides, she has no father or mother, so we must choose someone who is gentle and kind."
Mother Dong added, "There is also Jiang's third son. Although he is younger, these are all relatives of the same age and appearance."
The old lady disagreed again: "Master Jiang Liu's family has fallen on hard times, and his wife is a well-known shrew. If our Pan'er marries someone who cries easily like this, even if we use our own dowry to fill the gap, she will still be bullied."
Mother Dong still remembers that the last time Madam Jiang Liu came over, she roared like a lion on the spot because Mr. Liu had played a trick on someone. She was not a woman of virtue at all.
After proposing two people in a row, the old lady rejected them both. Mother Dong didn’t know what to do. Nowadays, all the Jinshi candidates are snobbish and unmarried at an advanced age, just waiting to find a rich and powerful girl after winning the imperial examination. Even the prime minister of the current dynasty has to pay the son-in-law 3,000 taels of silver as a bed-making fee. The old lady only has five thousand taels in her hand now, which is her coffin money. At most she can give half of it to Miss Mei.
How could one find a Jinshi with such a small dowry? Even the third daughter, who was born out of wedlock, was said to have a dowry of five thousand taels.
…
After the fourth girl came out from the old lady's place, she was unwilling to go to Miao Xiaoniang's place. Miao Xiaoniang was pregnant now and was very careful. Among the other sisters, she had a good relationship with the eldest girl, but the eldest girl was getting married tomorrow, so she had already been called over by the first lady.
So she went back to her room, feeling a little bored. She saw Yuxing coming back from outside, her face slightly red. She asked, "Where did you go?"
"I just went to the farewell banquet held by the needlework room. Madam Chen and Madam Jin and Qiao Lian from the needlework room are all leaving tomorrow, so we all gathered together to have a drink. I just came back after the wine had just stopped." Yuxing said.
Jinniang was about to leave. Well, when she met Zhou Cunzhi, she had already remarried.
The fourth girl said, "I have heard that she is good, so I asked her to come and draw a picture for me. But I am afraid I won't be able to ask her to draw in the future."
She hoped that she would not meet Zhou Cunzhi again and would not be deceived into marrying him.
Jinniang had just finished eating and lit a charcoal basin, preparing to take a nap, when she heard the fourth girl asking her to come over. She pounded her chest and said, "The last day is still not peaceful." Then she resigned herself to her fate and took the ink box and paint and left.
It turned out that she came here just to let herself draw flowers. Jinniang couldn't help but ask: "What does Fourth Miss want to draw? I will help you draw it."
The fourth girl said casually, "Let's draw morning glories."
If it was a particularly complex pattern, Jinniang would have to copy it, but morning glory has few leaves and is very simple, so there is no need to draw the outline first. She can just mix the paint evenly and start painting. She had always been imitating the paintings of Xu Xi and Huang Quan, so a few casual strokes of her brush made her paintings unique, which even amazed the fourth girl.
The people who watched Jinniang painting did not know that she had been copying famous paintings before, and they thought she painted them herself. They were all watching, but the fourth girl thought that she was a rich lady, but she was not as good as a maid? Originally, the flowers she painted were novel and outstanding, and the maids all praised them. Unexpectedly, Jinniang painted light purple morning glory, a bamboo fence, and even a flying butterfly with milky white wings and light green body. It was full of wild charm and a sense of luxury.
No wonder her second brother liked her despite her looks.
Even in the Song Dynasty, where there were many scholars, the daughters of Bianjing read "Instructions for Women" and "Rules for Women". There were actually very few truly talented women, and they had to come from families that were quite open-minded. Just like today's meal, Jiang was so kind to the eldest sister, and the eldest master also regarded the eldest daughter as the apple of his eye, but he wanted her to serve her husband obediently, respect her parents-in-law, and also said that women are meant to be humble and weak.
Could it be that this Jinniang has some extraordinary background?
She immediately asked, "Jinniang, what do your parents do for a living?"
"Just some small business." Jinniang smiled.
After finishing the painting, Jinniang saw that the Fourth Girl was in disbelief when she saw her painting. She probably understood what she was thinking, but still felt a little disapproving. The fourth girl's previous act seemed to show that she respected herself very much, but in fact, she still felt that she was superior to others and her status was different. She thought that it was impossible for a slave like her to be good at painting.
But Jinniang thought that this fourth girl must have traveled through time, so how could she be more feudal than the local women? The eldest girl, the third girl, and even the second young master have never questioned themselves.
Fortunately, she will leave tomorrow, so she doesn't mind these things anymore.
When they woke up the next day, the whole Zhou family was in red. It was as if Jinniang and the others had no work to do. It was the first time they didn't have to do any work and they just played in the garden. Fang Qiao Lian also said with a smile: "Let's play here for a while today. We usually bury our heads in needlework and have never had a good time strolling in the garden."
"We still have to stay in hiding, otherwise it would be bad if others saw us walking around so brazenly." Jinniang knew that everyone was feeling very depressed.
No one is born to be a slave.
The Zhou family's wealth and power are indeed incredible. It is said that the eldest master will be promoted soon, and this time the eldest daughter is also related to the prime minister, so even more people come.
Fang Qiao Lian said, "I'll get some food. Let's hide behind the garden and have some snacks and tea. Otherwise, we'll all be hungry later."
"Yes." Jinniang agreed.
After a while, the two of them were eating boiled peanuts, a few plates of snacks, appreciating the flowers and listening to the sounds of the opera troupe coming from not far away. It was so pleasant. Fang Qiao Lian just held her stomach and said, "I'm going to relieve myself. I'll go to the sewing room to take a nap later. You can go back after sitting for a while. We have to leave today."
"Okay." When it came to leaving, Jinniang still felt reluctant.
After Fang Qiaolian left, a group of young men in bright clothes and riding horses came out of nowhere. Jinniang recognized some of them. Some were from Jiang's family, and there were also many young men from officials' families. She had originally planned to wait until this group of people left before quietly returning to the sewing room. After all, her parents would be coming over to move things soon.
Unexpectedly, this group of people started to make a fuss. First, a tall and fat boy wanted to shoot arrows. Nowadays, scholars not only need to study, but also need to know the six arts of a gentleman. He pointed at two handsome boys and said, "Xi Silang, Peng Sanlang, you two come."
Jinniang knew that Xi Silang was the nephew of Third Madam Xi. He was always poor and frail, and looked a little shy when he was pushed around. Another young man named Peng Sanlang, who was also a thin boy, held back and said, "Why not play pot tossing? Neither of us are very good at shooting."
The tall and fat boy holding a crossbow said, "Otherwise I'd say you two are acting like little girls, get out of the way."
This tall and fat boy is really annoying, but these boys are all in their teens, and some of them did not step forward to mediate and just listened to the tall and fat boy getting more and more outrageous.
Fortunately, one of the most handsome young men quietly slipped out. Jinniang recognized him. He was the eldest lady's nephew. His name seemed to be Jiang Xian. She had seen him once when she played polo last time. Jinniang thought he would go out and ask the adults to come and judge the matter, but he was talking to another person in the flowers beside him: "Zhang Shiba is really too much of a bully. If he bullied others, it would be fine, but Xi Silang is Mrs. Zhou's nephew. If Zhang Shiba makes trouble, the first and third branches of the Zhou family will be at odds. Look at this... Zhang Shiba is a member of your Zhang family after all."
The young man that Jiang Xian complained to was originally standing aside as a spectator. When Jinniang heard what the young man said, she immediately sneered, "Zhang Shiba is just a member of our Zhang family's side branch. His parents and his family are in financial difficulty. He kneeled down to my mother again and again and cried all day long. Now he is pretending to be rich here. Do you think I will teach him a lesson?"
Jinniang, who was standing by, figured out the relationship. The tall and fat boy was the cousin of Second Grandma Zhang, and the one who was standing by and watching was Zhang's biological brother. Letting the Zhang family take care of the Zhang family would, on the one hand, not alarm the Zhou family, and on the other hand, save the two handsome boys from danger.
Jiang Xian is several years younger than her, yet he is so smart.
Zhang Xiaolang was seen going out to stop Zhang Shiba, cursing him very harshly. Zhang Shiba was stubborn at first, but later he admitted his mistake to Xi Silang and Peng Sanlang.
However, there was no sign of Jiang Xian around.
After Jinniang returned, she told Lanxue about the scene in the garden. Lanxue laughed and said, "Why do you think Jiang Xian only mentioned Xi Silang but not Peng Sanlang? Because Jiang Yan's wife is from the Peng family, and he is helping Jiang Yan."
Jinniang suddenly realized that Jiang Yan was the son of the head of the Jiang family and had the closest relationship with Jiang Xian. Jinniang had met these cousins several times.
The children of big families should not be underestimated.
Lan Xue said, "You are leaving soon. I really miss you. No one will talk to me anymore."
"You should also plan for yourself. A waiter is no more than 20 years old. You have to think about whether to be assigned a servant or to send someone out early. I know you are just getting by day by day, but now the Second Madam has started to manage the household. A new emperor appoints new ministers. You can't just let others kick you out. You will have to let them make all the arrangements when the time comes." Normally, Jinniang would not say these things, but today was very different. She was about to leave the Zhou family, so she would say a few more words to her good friend.
It can be seen that the Zhang family members are quite arrogant, not just ordinary arrogance. Zhang is certainly not an ordinary person.
Lan Xue stood up, glanced at Jin Niang, then lowered her head to order tea for her: "I do think about what you said. If I am dragged out to work with someone else, it will be difficult for me to get a job in the second gate in the future. Alas, I always hope that I can be lucky enough to be here, and you are all here, so it's good. But you are right, I can't always let others arrange for me. If I am dragged out to work with someone else at will, my life will be ruined."
Seeing that her friend had figured it out, Jinniang was happy for her. She wanted to say something, but then she heard that Chen Niangzi and Qin Shuang'er were coming. She hadn't seen Qin Shuang'er for a few months. She was wearing a bright satin jacket, with a vase hairpin and a golden ball hairpin in her hair. She looked like a young lady now.
"This is the money you got for selling your body, a total of sixteen taels. The Second Madam sent someone to give it to me. You can decide whether I should take it to Jiangling for you or give it to you directly." Madam Chen was in a hurry to go back, wishing she could deal with it as soon as possible.
It was changed from a living contract to a dead contract, and it was only sold for 16 taels. Qin Shuang'er was very happy. Now she said: "Please keep this money with me first. I will give it to her when I bring my mother here in the future."
Jinniang thought that the second master was really a businessman and was so good at doing business.
Qin Shuang'er just hugged a bag of money without turning her head, and ignored Jinniang and Fang Qiaolian. Jin Niang shrugged and said to Chen Niangzi: "Madam, this..."
"She wants to do this of her own accord. I just hope she has good luck. If she doesn't, I'd be really stupid." Madam Chen shook her head, not wanting to say more.
Soon after, someone came outside to urge them to do their work. Madam Chen and Fang Qiao Lian carried the luggage away one by one. They had done the same thing yesterday, so they were not so pretentious today. Jinniang helped them move some things, and when she was about to talk to Lanxue, her parents came, and Si'er and Lanxue also helped to move.
When they arrived in the carriage hired by Wei Xiong, Jinniang was introducing Si'er and Lanxue to Luo Yu'e: "This is my little apprentice, and this is my good friend."
Luo Yu'e hurriedly greeted them. She was so beautiful and young that Lan Xue couldn't help but ask Jin Niang, "Is this really your mother? Not your sister?"
"Go away." Jinniang rolled her eyes at them.
Wei Xiong quietly helped Jinniang move boxes, bookcases, and cloth. When Luo Yu'e saw that most of the things had been moved, she urged Jinniang to go home: "The furniture at home has been built. We also bought a roast chicken and ground rice flour. We will make steamed dishes later. Come home quickly."
Jinniang thought Lanxue was fine, after all, she was a big girl, but Si'er was very nervous. She ran up to her and hugged her: "Take care of yourself. I'll give you my bed, feather pen and paper. Don't be afraid, just do it bravely."
"Okay." Si'er said, and then said firmly: "Sister Jinniang, see you later."
Jinniang nodded heavily and looked back at the Zhou Mansion. She had thought that three years would be a very long time. After going through all the ups and downs along the way, she didn't feel happy to leave, but disappointed.
After getting on the carriage and about to leave Wuque Lane, she couldn't help but lift the curtain and glance towards the Zhou Mansion. She said silently in her heart, "Goodbye Zhou Mansion. I'm going to start my own life."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
