Chapter 54 Chapter 54 Two chapters merged into one
Zhang was packing Zhou Cunzhi's luggage. She and her husband had been separated for three years, and they had been getting along peacefully during the days they had reunited. However, she would not follow him to the post outside. Thinking of this, she remembered what her mother had said.
Men are all the same after all. There is no cat that doesn't steal fish, so it's best to turn a blind eye.
Fortunately, Zhou Cunzhi had been away for three years this time, and he was alone and had not brought anyone back. She interrogated the people who followed him, and they said that he was fine. Only then did Zhang feel relieved.
But Zhou Cunzhi will be assigned to another post soon, and she doesn’t know what to do in a few years.
"Second Madam, the Second Master has sent the servant out to make clothes again."
Ever since the sewing room at home was closed down, she has been responsible for making Zhou Cunzhi's clothes. Now this is...
Zhang was always very careful about people, and she was vaguely uneasy: "He went to make new clothes without telling me? Did he go somewhere else?"
"No, the second master is in the study." said the servant.
After that, the servant said, "Do you know which house we are going to? It is the home of Madam Wei who came here during the last Lantern Festival."
Zhang sneered, "So it's that merchant girl. I was wondering how she got into my house that day. So she had such an idea."
"What do you mean?"
Zhang snorted coldly: "Send someone to keep an eye on it."
Jinniang had no idea, because when Zhou Cunzhi sent someone to make clothes for her, Chen Xiaolang avoided the question and said, "My dear, our shop only serves female customers. For male customers' clothes, please go somewhere else."
The servant came back quickly to report, Zhou Cunzhi was speechless, but Zhang, who had someone eavesdropped on the incident, was very happy.
Therefore, after Zhou Cunzhi took office, Zhang did a business deal with Jinniang and asked Jinniang to embroider pink peonies on the hem of her blue satin skirt, and Jinniang happily earned two strings of cash.
Of course the Fourth Girl heard about this. Although she had no control over what went on in her brother and sister-in-law's rooms, she was relieved when she thought that Jinniang was her brother's second wife in the book and now the two of them had nothing to do with each other.
Why is this life different from the last one?
She even suspected that she was reading a fake book.
Jinniang was busy making the five-poison bags and ropes for the Dragon Boat Festival, all of which had to be sold before the Dragon Boat Festival. Unexpectedly, the matchmaker came to her door.
Of course, the person they were looking for was Luo Yu'e. When the matchmaker saw Luo Yu'e, she smiled and said, "Your daughter is so lucky to be favored by the official's son."
It turned out that Gong's wife had been ill for a long time and was unable to take care of the household affairs, so she wanted to hire Jinniang as her second wife.
Luo Yu'e put her hands on her hips and cursed, "Get out of here! My daughter will never marry, and she won't be someone else's concubine."
The matchmaker said anxiously, "The Gong family is not an ordinary family. They are the son of the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture. You should not be ungrateful."
"Then I'll go to Kaifeng Prefecture and ask what crime it is to forcibly seize a woman?" Luo Yu'e stabbed the matchmaker with a kitchen knife, frightening her to the point of peeing. She clapped her hands and laughed, "You thought I was scared when I was a child. How can our family survive in Kaifeng Prefecture if we don't have some skills?"
But after she came back, she talked about this problem with her daughter: "Although your shop only serves female customers and you rarely go out, you are old, good-looking, and wealthy. Will there be more and more people coveting you? Instead of letting others choose, why don't we choose one ourselves?"
How could Jinniang not know? It was fine when the embroidery shop business was not taking off, but after it started, all kinds of evil people came to her knowing that she was not married.
Her friend Qu Fengying got married quickly in March this year. She married a man's second wife. This month she whispered to her that the man was not very good.
Jinniang sighed, but still hadn't made a decision.
But soon she heard a piece of news that the emperor in the palace was still childless, and many wealthy families wanted to select beautiful women from the people to be adopted daughters into the palace.
"Mom, I promise you that I will choose someone to marry, but the person must be of similar age and appearance, and their family backgrounds cannot be too different. I will still do business after marriage." Jinniang finally made a decision.
Her birthday was spent in such a weird atmosphere. Luo Yu'e naturally could not just look for someone at will. She had to mobilize the people she knew around her. She was even willing to lose face with Yingniang and Rongniang.
It's not shameful to do it for my daughter.
Zhi Jinniang said, "Forget about them. How can they help me if they are too lazy to add icing on the cake? Besides, you know that even if they really introduce someone, they won't introduce a good guy."
Luo Yu'e asked anxiously, "What should we do? What if you are really chosen to enter the palace?"
Nowadays, when people hear that women are being selected to enter the palace, some people volunteer to enter the palace in order to reduce the burden on their families. Some people, as beautiful as Jinniang, will be chosen to be maids of the imperial concubines or consorts, and then presented to the emperor.
Jinniang sighed slightly and warned her mother: "This is just my guess, you may not take it seriously. I am just a common woman, it is not easy for me to enter the palace."
Accidents always come one after another. Jinniang has always felt that being single is a good thing. There will be too many restrictions after marriage and she will lose her freedom. As long as she stays at home in the name of filial piety and has her parents around, no one can force her.
"Mom, I always feel that those who end up in the hands of matchmakers have already been picked out several times by others." Jinniang always felt that matchmakers were not very reliable.
Luo Yu'e was just a small businessman, and no one she knew was worthy of her daughter. But she thought of the Zhou family: "Last time I went to the Zhou family, I saw that the first and second wives were both good. Why don't you go and ask them for help?"
"Forget about the first lady, but I still have some face with the second lady."
After all, she had saved Qin'er before and had even made clothes for him in March. Mrs. Wu was a nice person, but asking for help from others was Jinniang's biggest worry.
She never likes to ask for help from others.
Just when I was feeling annoyed, I saw Ah Ying come in and said, "Miss, there are guests outside."
"Okay, I'll be out right away."
No matter how upset she was just now, she put on a smile as she left the embroidery room. She saw that the visitor was a woman in her forties. She looked familiar. She was very thin, almost skin and bones, but one could vaguely tell from her face that she must have been quite good-looking when she was young.
"Ma'am, what do you want to do? I can help you with this."
The skinny woman was in a hurry: "I'm seriously ill now, and I've lost a lot of weight in just the past few months. How can you make me look less skinny?"
Jinniang smiled and said, "If you do Guangdong embroidery, it will easily make you look too thin. In fact, you should choose a middle-length shirt with a straight collar. A tube top will not work. It is best to wear it with a cross collar. I can use two layers of color on the collar of the cross collar. Then you can wear a narrow-sleeved jacket on top and it will be very good."
The woman nodded when she heard this. Seeing that she was seriously ill, Jinniang just said, "Wait a moment, I will draw it directly, and then we can color it."
After saying that, he took out the easel and painted a light red cross-collared middle coat on it, adding another layer of bright red to the collar. I will fix the shoulders of the narrow-sleeved jacket outside for you. With this silhouette, the head and shoulders will not look weird, and it will look good this way.
The woman asked again, "I do have a piece of embroidered satin, how much is it worth?"
"If you want a middle garment and a jacket, I will embroider some flowers for you. The total wages will be four strings of cash." Jinniang said.
As they were talking, they saw someone come to buy a collarbone. The woman blinked her eyes and immediately nodded in agreement.
Jinniang then smiled and issued a bill of lading to her maid. She didn't expect that this woman lived in Nanxunfang, which was where many officials and their families lived.
How could she know that the woman did it on purpose? Jinniang later thought it through and decided not to scare herself. When enemies come, we must fight back; when water comes, we must block it with earth. Marriage is a matter of a lifetime, how can it be treated so casually? Moreover, nowadays it is difficult for the daughters of officials to get married without a dowry. Although she has a low status, she has a house and a shop, so why should she be in a hurry?
If you can't keep your composure, one wrong step will lead to many wrong steps. Marriage is not a joke. If you get into a bad marriage, you’ll lose half your life.
Other things require hard work, diligence and luck, but things like love really depend on fate.
Sure enough, two days later, Xiang Ming came over.
Jinniang thought she had some embroidery work for her, but she never expected her to say, "Sister Jinniang, I have something to tell you. It's about your lifelong event."
"My lifelong event?" Jinniang was puzzled.
Since Xiang Ming helped Jiang mend her brocade dress last time, and received a flower booklet and embroidery tips from Jin Niang, she was promoted from a third-class maid to a second-class maid this month. As a result, she is often by Jiang's side and is well-informed.
Therefore, she said: "The Sixth Madam of the Jiang family wanted the First Madam to act as a matchmaker and ask for your hand in marriage, but the First Madam did not agree."
Although Jinniang didn't know who Madam Jiang Liu was, since Jiang had refused, she must be unwilling to marry into the Jiang family. Although Jiang seemed to be very flattering to her last time, she still felt deep down that she was once a slave in her family and was not worthy of marrying into her family. She thought so and told the reason.
When Xiang Ming heard this, she said, "Sister, you are so insightful. I am the one who made things worse. This marriage is actually a good one." She also told them why she asked Jinniang and the others to come, and she felt very guilty.
Jinniang was deeply touched: "Thank you for still thinking of me. It's very kind of you to have this thought."
"In fact, the eldest lady thinks that the sixth lady is the third uncle's biological mother after all. She may not look down on her sister. She is mainly afraid that the former master and servant will become sisters-in-law in the future." Xiang Ming analyzed.
Only then did Jinniang realize that this Madam Jiang Liu was actually the mother of the third uncle Jiang Fang, but Jiang Fang was adopted out.
It just so happened that she didn't know this group of people, so she just said, "It's okay, don't blame yourself."
Xiang Ming smiled and said, "Although the first lady refused, I think Sixth Madam Jiang is not a person who compromises. If the first lady didn't mention the third uncle, it would be fine. But if she did, I'm afraid given Sixth Madam's temper, she would even propose marriage. So, let me make it short. Sixth Madam gave birth to three sons and one daughter. The eldest son has already married, the second son was adopted, and the daughter was also married a long time ago. Only the youngest son, Shiliulang, has not yet married."
"He is well educated, handsome, and a few years younger than my sister. I think he is a perfect match for my sister."
After that, she heard the people outside urging her to leave, so she quickly stood up and said, "I'm going to burn incense for the eldest lady. I dare not stay for long, so I'm leaving now. Sister, you have to get ready in the next few days."
Although Jinniang felt that this matter was unrealistic, she couldn't bear to reject her kindness, and smiled and said, "Don't worry."
Of course, she didn't tell anyone about this and continued cutting purses. She called Chen Xiaolang in and said, "I bought a piece of Jianyang yarn from a customer from Fujian before. Send it to Gao's Dyeing House and have them dye it into these two colors for me. Here."
A piece of Jianyang small yarn costs only five hundred coins. If it is dyed into scarlet or emerald green, including the labor cost, it is only one string of coins.
She didn't get all her fabrics from Qu Fengying's house. Sometimes she would go out and find some cheap and nice ones herself. Now she started to cut some purses, which could be used as drapes or to fill a whole strip, and both looked great.
After embroidering a pair of purses, Jinniang began to help Miss Liu embroider. She was completely immersed in the embroidery part. Now that Aying could handle ordinary customers, Jinniang would not worry.
But after Xiang Ming finished offering incense, he went back to report. Mrs. Jiang was worried about the fourth girl's marriage. She originally wanted to arrange the marriage for the fourth girl to Han Xiao, but she didn't expect that Han Xiao married the daughter of Liu Jixiang.
Thinking of Liu Jixiang, she thought of Jiang's sixth wife Liu, and couldn't help saying to her eldest daughter who had returned home, "You don't know that your sixth aunt is obsessed with money and actually wants to marry a merchant's wife."
Miss Zhou left early that day on the Lantern Festival because she was serving her mother-in-law. It was her fourth sister who told her that Jinniang, who used to make clothes for them, had become a completely different person. Not only that, she also had a lot of money. Now, the eldest girl is no longer a girl who indulges in romance in the boudoir. After being a wife for several years, she knows the importance of money.
Therefore, she said, "Sixth uncle failed in the examinations many times, and he always liked to pretend to be cultured. His family business was in decline, so he was tempted when he saw someone with a house and a shop. However, if you want to find someone, you have to find someone who is really rich. I do know someone whose family runs a jewelry shop. We often buy from her. Why not let my daughter introduce her to someone?"
"That's true. I heard that Shiliulang was studying with Liu Ji, but for some reason they didn't let him go. Do you know the reason?" Jiang didn't like the Sixth Madam, but she still liked Jiang Xian very much.
Miss Zhou paused for a moment before saying, "I heard that Madam Xun was dissatisfied with the close relationship between Young Master Liu and Brother Xian. You know, it was because Xiang Liu saw that Brother Xian was smart that he kept this distant relative there to study. It just so happened that he and Young Master Liu had a close relationship. I don't know if the Liu family or the Xun family or even some servants were dissatisfied and spread a lot of rumors, so they instigated Madam Xun to make a scene, and Xiang Ji had no choice but to let Sixteenth Brother go out."
"It's such an unprovoked disaster. You can't just make up such rumors just because Shiliu Lang is good-looking." Jiang said.
Mrs. Jiang Liu also said the same thing. She originally wanted to ask Jiang for help in matchmaking, not entirely because of Jinniang's money, but also because Jinniang was indeed extremely beautiful. In her opinion, the only way to dispel the rumors about her son's homosexuality was to find him a wife as soon as possible.
I just never thought that Jiang would disagree.
She looked at her little son in front of her, feeling very distressed: "Ahem, your aunt only knows how to say that she is a daughter of a merchant. The second master of her family is also a merchant. If her daughters didn't have this uncle who is a merchant, would they have such a large dowry? Even county princesses have married merchants, so what's so great about us. I am also the daughter of a Hanlin, and your eldest sister-in-law is also the daughter of an official family, so what? At that time, I said that a poor official's daughter came into the family and we would all suffer together, but your father refused to listen to me, and ended up selling a shop as a betrothal gift. Her uncle only gave her a dowry of 200 strings of cash when he married her, and it took a long time to raise it. Now it seems that our family is getting worse and worse, and my health is getting worse and worse. Who will take care of you, your father, brother and sister-in-law? They are powerless to take care of you."
"I've seen that Miss Wei. She's not only beautiful and talented, but also good at economics. Most importantly, she's humble and filial. Don't be like those people who are always looking forward to getting married after passing the imperial examination. You're only seventeen, and I don't know how many years it will take you to pass the imperial examination. If I leave, who will take care of you?"
…
Jinniang had never thought that her mother would suddenly mention going to Renwang Temple to burn incense. Luo Yu'e also said, "If you want to marry a good husband, you must sincerely pray for the blessing of the Bodhisattva."
"Then we shouldn't go to Renwangji. It's a bit far from here." Jinniang said.
"Although it's far away, it's quiet and we can have a vegetarian meal when we come back." Luo Yu'e said with a smile.
After that, she said mysteriously, "Jinniang, today Wu Shizhao's wife suddenly came to my house and said she wanted to find a marriage for you. When she said that, even I was shocked."
Seeing that she was talking about her marriage, Jinniang no longer pretended to be reserved: "How is it? Which family are you talking about?"
"He is also the son of an official. His great-grandfather was a prime minister, but his grandparents are both deceased. His family can be considered a scholarly family. His mother is also the daughter of a Hanlin scholar, and his father is also a scholar. The family also has a three-story house with a large garden, in Nanxunfang. They also have a five-room shop in Jinliangqiao and two hundred acres of paddy fields." Luo Yu'e was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
Jinniang smiled and said, "How could such a nice family say such things about me?"
"You, don't underestimate yourself. You own a house and a shop now, and they are all yours. But that family has two sons. When their parents are gone in the future, they may not get anything when the family is divided." Luo Yu'e felt that her daughter could be the queen.
Jinniang nodded slightly, "Then I will go and see him. If it doesn't work, please don't force me."
"That's for sure. When have I ever forced you?" Luo Yu'e spread her hands.
Jinniang thought so too. After all, after meeting each other, even if she liked him, she would still find out about his temperament. It was not like they would get married just by seeing each other, so she agreed.
When Aying learned that Jinniang was going on a blind date, she remembered that Jinniang was reluctant to buy jewelry, so she used her own private money to buy a pearl flower for Jinniang to help her dress up.
"Are you really paying for your work?" Jinniang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Ah Ying said, "I always save the money that customers give me. I don't need much money on weekdays. My handkerchief, ring and earrings were all given to me by you."
Jinniang had no choice but to say, "Okay, okay."
Aying combed her hair into a tassel bun, tied her hair into a concentric bun, and tied a silk ribbon at the bottom of the bun. Two pearl flowers were inserted in the middle of the bun, one was bought by Aying and the other was given by Old Madam Zhou when she was at Zhou's house. She wore pearl earrings in her ears. The face is painted with Feixia makeup, which is to apply rouge first and then powder, with a rosy white, fresh and elegant beauty.
The willow green tube top is matched with a goose yellow silk top, and underneath it is a pearl white pleated crepe skirt, with an exquisite purse hanging around the waist.
"You need to apply powder on your neck too." Aying took the powder puff and patted Jinniang's neck again.
As soon as it was daybreak, Wei Xiong drove a donkey cart to take Jinniang, her daughter and Aying there. The exterior of their donkey cart had been redecorated with brocade and was now used exclusively for traveling and delivering goods.
Jinniang was not nervous at first, but when she was about to reach Renouji Temple, her heart started pounding.
However, the mother and son of the Jiang family arrived first. Today, Jiang Xian was wearing a cross-collar shirt with a dark lotus pattern, a dark green skirt underneath, and a plain gauze double-breasted shirt on the outside. He wore a green jade hair crown on his head and a pair of black boots on his feet. He was standing in front of his mother.
Passers-by couldn't help but take a look at him. Seeing his handsome appearance, red lips and white teeth, they praised him: "The young man is really handsome."
Jiang Xian smiled and helped his mother fan herself.
Then I heard Madam Jiang Liu say, "Really? I introduced you to a girl from a pearl shop. She said all kinds of things. Fortunately, I went to visit her secretly. This girl pretends to be okay and can read a few words. Her family is much richer than Madam Wei, but she is a widow and the only daughter of a widow. I bribed her servants and found out that she is a shrew. Not only does she often beat the servants, but she is also too spoiled. I was just wearing poor clothes and accidentally spilled a glass of water on her, and her face turned red. If we really marry such a person, my mother and I will end up coveting other people's property, and our family will be in turmoil."
She was not an ignorant woman. Her father was a Hanlin scholar. When she married, her husband was the grandson of the prime minister. It was a time of prosperity and prosperity.
It was also said that Jinniang and the others had already reached the foot of Renwang Temple Mountain. Luo Yu'e was saying to Wei Xiong, "They are at the Tujia branch tea shop at the foot of the mountain. Don't rush over there. You'll make a fool of yourself."
Wei Xiong was speechless: "Why am I being laughed at?"
"Because you are dark." Luo Yu'e felt that her husband had no self-awareness.
Jinniang paid no attention to her parents' quarrel. She just took a deep breath and waited for Aying to get out of the car. After she stepped on the step, Yingying got out of the car. Luo Yu'e naturally stepped forward to greet them. In fact, the two of them had met again at the Wu family.
This was the first time Jiang Xian saw Jinniang. Although she had a pitiful appearance, there was no shyness in her expression that was common among women. She stood there with ease and grace, looking incredibly pure, as if the breeze blowing towards her was fragrant.
The adults deliberately left space for each other to walk in front, and the two of them greeted each other. Jinniang didn't expect that it was Jiang Xian. She had seen him on the last day after leaving the Zhou family. Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, that kind of appearance was hard to forget.
When Jinniang didn't know what to ask, she heard Jiang Xian say, "Five years ago, when I was born, my mother brought me to Renwang Temple. The climb up here is not steep, and they have a delicious dish of braised bamboo shoots in the vegetarian meal."
Five years ago was his zodiac year, so he is seventeen years old this year, three years younger than me!
"Since you said so, I'm going to enjoy a feast later. I wonder what you usually do at this time?" Jinniang asked.
Jiang Xian smiled: "I'm usually already studying at this time."
Since it was a blind date, it was better to ask clearly. Jinniang asked, "Is it the Jinshi or Mingjing exam?"
"Let my lady know that I am a Jinshi candidate. Yesterday I wrote a poem following my teacher's instructions." Jiang Xian slowly recited his poem.
Jinniang was amused by the neatness of the poem and the word "garcinia" in it. "I often use gamboge in my paintings. Hey, there is a large-leaf gamboge tree over there."
Jiang Xian was very surprised: "This is the Garcinia tree." He was a little embarrassed: "Although I use it when writing poems, I have never seen it. How did you recognize it? Why does it look like a loquat tree to me?"
"It's very similar, but also different..." Jinniang introduced.
Jiang Xian said with admiration: "I heard from my mother that my wife is very good at embroidery. I never thought that she is also well-versed in poetry and literature and is very knowledgeable."
Jinniang said quickly, "My dear, you are too kind. I just happen to know a little bit, but I can't be called knowledgeable."
Since she traveled through time, she had hardly met anyone she could get along with. Jiang Xian was one of them, and she even felt unsatisfied and they were quite compatible. No, Jinniang laughed, how can it be said that we hit it off right away? It's obvious that the other person has been chatting with you the whole time.
This guy is awesome!
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