Chapter 82 Chapter 82 Two Chapters Combined
Fu Yuan? That was the top scorer in the Kaifeng Prefecture examination.
Jiang Xian had felt that he was unlucky before, but now he passed the test very smoothly and even won the first place. He couldn't help but jump a little. Jinniang happily hugged his arm and said, "I have prepared some change, go and reward those birds that brought good news."
Fortunately, their embroidery shop often accepts cash, so there is no need to go anywhere to exchange money. Jinniang opened the box herself, filled a basket with loose coins, and asked Luo Da and Liu Douer to carry it down.
At this time, Jiang Xian also changed into the new robe made for him by Jinniang and came out to accept everyone's congratulations.
Jinniang has her own embroidery guild and people from all over the place coming to pay a visit to her, the lady from the Fuyuan guild. The head of the guild who succeeded her last year also came to pay a visit. Jinniang did not put on airs and treated everyone as usual.
There were also a bunch of Jiang Xian's friends from the yamen, Zhang Jiulang, Han Xiao and others who all prepared gifts and sent them over, and Zhang Jiulang even came in person. There is also Jiang Xian's maternal family, the Liu family. These people originally only had a good relationship with the Xu family and looked down on them as a family of merchants. Now the Liu family's uncle and aunt have come to visit.
At this time, they had a different attitude towards Jinniang. Aunt Liu smiled and said, "I have long said that Xian'er is extremely smart. When your mother-in-law was alive, she loved her youngest son the most. Now he has really made it. I will definitely earn you an imperial title in the future. Just wait and enjoy your life."
Jiang Xian's elder brother Jiang Yan also won the prize, but his ranking was behind his younger brother. Jiang Xian is still young and has unlimited potential.
Hearing this, Jinniang quickly said modestly: "Now I have only passed the pre-examination exam, and there is still the provincial exam. Aunt, please don't brag too early."
Seeing that Jinniang was so ecstatic and yet could remain calm, Aunt Liu began to admire her aunt's vision in choosing a daughter-in-law. Xu was frugal and self-reliant, and urged her husband and son to make progress, while Wei was clever and humble.
After finally seeing off this group of people, Jinniang and Jiang Xian began to discuss matters to be arranged. Then they saw Xiqiu coming over with Yunjie, who had just woken up. Her little face was fair and tender, and had a natural flush from sleeping. The couple didn't feel tired of looking at their daughter.
Jiang Zhuangyuan was also relieved after hearing this. Madam Song smiled and said, "It seems that my husband has a very good eye. I want to go to Tianshui Lane myself."
"Thank you for your help, madam." Jiang Zhuangyuan was very satisfied with his wife, who was a lady from a wealthy family. Not only was she good at judging people, but she was also very good at winning them over.
Madam Song smiled and said, "What's the big deal? My dear, you need some help when you are away from home. Fortunately, although the lady from the Wei family is a merchant, she is also a reasonable person."
Seeing his wife being so humble, Jiang Zhuangyuan couldn't help but ask, "Why not bring along the wife from the Zhou family, who has a good relationship with you?"
Having more people doesn't make it seem humble.
Madam Song smiled and said, "You don't know that there is a reason for this. Madam Wei worked as an embroiderer in the Zhou family for several years. Although she left after her employment ended, they still had a master-servant relationship. If I bring Madam Zhou with me, wouldn't that be a slap in her face?"
So that's how it is, Jiang Zhuangyuan sighed, how could a child from a poor family like him know the complicated relationship involved.
But no matter what, his wife Song was picky before, and now she has worked hard for him to have such a big change.
It was also said that both of Mr. Jiang Liu's sons had become successful, and they wanted to invite relatives and friends to a gathering at the old house. Jiang Xian and Jinniang both knew that the old house was short of money, so they sent ten taels of silver over.
Zheng originally wanted to spend money on a grand celebration, but she didn't expect that Jiang Xian and his wife would give her ten taels of silver, which made her very happy. Master Jiang Liu wrote the invitation himself and invited everyone. Even Xu, who always wore plain clothes, had her more expensive clothes dug out from the bottom of the box and re-perfumed.
After she finished her confinement, Jinniang found that her clothes could no longer fit into five large boxes and the top cabinet, so she stopped making them and just took out the clothes she had worn once before to wear.
It was a brisk autumn day, and she wore an ivory-white tube top embroidered with crab chrysanthemums in silver thread, a pine-green jacket with honey-colored raccoon sleeves and a circle of rabbit fur sewn at the neckline.
She wore a string of white crystal beads around her neck and a velvet flower with a bluebird and peony inlaid with pearls on her head. She looked exquisite and luxurious.
When they were in the carriage, Jiang Xian kept nudging his wife around, and when he saw her sitting upright, he became a little angry. Jinniang was so annoyed by him that she had to hold his hand before he calmed down a little.
Mr. Jiang Liu drank a lot of wine today. Jinniang saw a slight smile on Mrs. Xu's face. She thought how nice it would be if Mrs. Jiang Liu was still alive!
This is probably the case where a child wants to support his parents but they are no longer around.
Jiang Xian was also invited to several literary gatherings. He was so young and handsome that many people inquired about his marriage. Jiang Xian always said, "I have a good wife at home."
Everyone had to give up.
The provincial examination will be held in February or March next year, which is the year of the big exam. After Jiang Xian attended the banquet for candidates prepared by Kaifeng Prefecture, he gave several gifts to those who had promoted him, and then went into the study.
Jinniang didn't treat Jiang Xian specially. She didn't prepare any delicacies for him, but let him eat and drink normally so that he wouldn't be under so much pressure.
Business continued as usual. She had guessed correctly that after the examination, the matchmakers in Kaifeng Prefecture became busy and Jinniang's business also flourished.
"My lady, a quilt of four-color peonies in full bloom." Aying said.
One painting means four beds, and Jinniang agreed to it, because they have stock here and can ship out quickly. One bed costs thirteen strings of cash, and four beds cost fifty-two strings of cash. Excluding the cost of six strings of cash, there is still a profit of more than forty strings of cash. Now there is no need to pay back the loan, and everything can be put into the account.
Furthermore, after Jiang Xian was awarded the title of the top scorer in Kaifeng Prefecture, he received a reward of fifty taels from the government, but she kept all of it.
Today, by coincidence, someone from the Zhou family came to say that Zhang wanted to make clothes. Jinniang asked Aying to come and measure the size, and also brought a picture album to let Zhang choose.
Unexpectedly, after Ah Ying came back, she asked in surprise, "Do you know that Sister Xiang Ming has become the concubine of the second young master of the Zhou family?"
"No wonder I rarely saw her out in the past two years." Jinniang was not surprised. Xiang Ming, also known as Si'er, had a good temper and looked okay. The most important thing is that she is a maidservant of Jiang. When Jiang and Zhang are fighting, they will send their own people there.
It is possible that the Zhou family was in mourning before, and after that, they sent the person over for fear.
Ah Ying said worriedly, "That lady Zhang is not someone you can get along with easily."
"Xiang Ming was sold into prison with a death contract. Now that the Zhang family is not as powerful as before, the Zhou family has produced a Jinshi. I'm afraid that if the situation is reversed, it may not be a bad thing for her." There is no other way. If she doesn't become the master's mistress, she will be dragged out to be married off to someone else. Who knows what kind of poor man she will be married off to. Those house-born children with good character have already been reserved by well-connected families.
So, Jinniang said to Aying: "Come to think of it, you are almost eighteen years old, what do you think about your marriage? If you want to marry outside, I will cancel your marriage registration for you."
Ah Ying hurriedly said, "Madam, I want to stay by your side and serve you."
"Well, let's wait until you meet someone you like." Jinniang said with a smile.
Ah Ying thought that the world was very difficult nowadays. Take the last epidemic for example, ordinary small families had a hard time surviving. Besides, her husband is now a juren, and will become a jinshi in the future. The Jiang family will become prosperous immediately, and she will not leave. What's more, she has already regarded her wife as her own family.
Speaking of Aying's marriage, Jinniang wanted to wait a little longer, but Minzhi and Chen Xiaolang's marriage was going very smoothly. Jinniang naturally agreed to this marriage. They both had a good monthly salary, and she also gave Minzhi ten strings of cash for her dowry. She also asked Luo Mama to arrange the wedding for them. Both of them were servants, so there were not so many formalities, and soon Minzhi was dressed like a woman.
From then on, Chen Xiaolang wore his clothes neatly, combed his hair meticulously, and smiled all day long.
Not to mention Chen Xiaolang was happy, even his son Ning Ge'er, who was celebrating his hundredth day, was in good health. His expression looked very much like Jinniang's, and he wore a small tiger-head hat. Don't think that a three-month-old baby can't understand what you are saying. Jinniang said yesterday that he cried too loudly, and she was angry when she saw him today.
"Ning'er, you are still angry with your mother. Can I apologize to you? My Ning'er is the best baby." Jin Niang kissed her son.
Only then would people be willing to snuggle into Jinniang's arms.
Ning'er's wet nurse's surname was Ma. She was a woman who was very good at raising babies. She was much better than the wet nurse who had taken care of Yun'er before. She also taught Jinniang how to breastfeed the children and how to take care of them. Jinniang was also a serious person. She observed her daughter and son every day and wrote thick notes.
Just as Ning Ge'er was coaxed, Ah Ying shouted at the stairs: "Madam, Han Shizhi's wife, Madam Liu, is here."
Jinniang thought that Madam Liu had come to her place to make clothes a few years ago, but she hadn't seen her since then. She didn't know what she was doing here now.
So she straightened her clothes and went downstairs.
Madam Liu was originally Han Xiao's second wife and had a distinguished family background. She had previously felt that if they were to be polite to each other, it would make both families uncomfortable. Now that she had come to visit, she saw that Jiang Xian had already become the top scorer in the prefecture and had a very high chance of passing the imperial examination. If she didn't come at this time, she would be truly stupid.
"Madam Wei." Madam Liu said with a smile.
Seeing that she did not seem to be here to make clothes, Jinniang invited her to the small hall on the first floor for tea. When Madam Liu saw Jinniang again, she saw that her hair was wrapped in a pink scarf with a few unique flowers inserted in the front and small pearl comb curtains on both sides. Although her makeup is light, her face looks very tender and her every move still has a girlish feel.
"Madam Wei, is your shop still open now?" Madam Liu asked curiously.
Jinniang smiled: "That's natural."
Unless Jiang Xian was assigned a post outside the capital, she would follow him and then rent out the shop. Otherwise, she would never close the shop. As long as the shop is open, you will earn money, so how can you close it?
Madam Liu also became understanding: "That's right, your Wei's embroidery shop is very famous, and I just happen to have a business to introduce to you."
It turned out that Han Xiao had a cousin who was getting married and was preparing her dowry. She felt that she was doing a favor.
Jinniang said in embarrassment: "Thank you for introducing the business to us, but I'm afraid that what you said can only be completed in the spring. Our orders have been arranged until next year, and I don't think we can close the shop during the Chinese New Year this year."
Lian Minzhi has almost given up the children's clothing business now, and all the people are rushing to make it.
Mrs. Liu was stunned. She didn't expect that the business was so good.
Jinniang apologized: "How about I introduce you to a nearby one? My place is really..."
"No, let's do it at your house." Mrs. Liu wanted to do it even more here.
Jinniang went to the front and took out the album. She turned to a page and showed it to her: "This is the most common one. It means prosperity and prosperity." She turned to another page and said: "This is my new design of a happy marriage. It uses the pattern of lilies. The cover is embroidered with lilies with broken branches, and the edges are outlined with silver thread."
They had a special bed for the wedding quilt, wedding curtains, etc. Madam Liu also saw the construction period and price marked here, and she immediately paid the deposit.
There was a difference in their status before, but now that they are similar, Madam Liu finds that she and Jinniang get along very well.
Of course, Jinniang also realized that the interactions between people are not based on similar interests, but depend entirely on status and then personality.
Jiang Xian had a clear idea about this question: "My lady, don't think too much. Remember, the world is bustling for profit. You don't have to take it too seriously, but don't keep people at a distance."
"That does make sense." Jinniang said with a smile.
On second thought, if she was just an ordinary commoner, without a house or shop and without any skills, no matter how beautiful she was, it would be difficult for her to marry Jiang Xian. Even if it was Jiang Xian himself, even though he was the descendant of an official, if he was uneducated and did not know etiquette, Jinniang might not necessarily look down on him.
The two of them could even often talk about love because Jinniang's business was doing well, she was not short of money, she didn't have to worry about money, someone was taking care of the child, and there were no conflicts between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law...
But weren’t these also created by her own hands? If you think about it this way, she is really amazing.
After spending a cup of tea, Jinniang stood up again: "I have to hurry to the embroidery shop to finish my work."
"Would you like to sleep a little longer?" Jiang Xian asked.
Jinniang smiled and said, "That won't work. Don't you know that we have too many business orders right now?"
During the winter solstice, Jinniang did not ask the kitchen to cook, but booked two tables in Hongbin Building, one table in the outer room for the servants and hired workers, and the other table for her family.
Zhu Xiu Niang also packed up some of the leftovers and took them back for her husband. Both she and her husband had craft skills, and Zhu Xiu Niang received two strings of cash as commission this month, not to mention the rice, flour, charcoal, matches and the measurement fee given by the embroidery shop.
When her husband saw the food on the table, he immediately started to eat it up ravenously: "This is not cheap."
"It's not cheap. One table cost almost one tael. We brought our own wine and drinks. Our boss was very generous and treated us servants very well. It's just that..." Zhu Xiu Niang sighed slightly.
Her husband was puzzled and asked, "If it's fine, why are you sighing?"
Zhu Xiu Niang said, "Our boss's husband won the first prize in Kaifeng Prefecture this year. I think he will soon pass the imperial examination. In the future, the boss will definitely be appointed to a post outside the capital. How can we continue to run our shop? The orders the boss has received now will be completed by May at the latest."
Why May? Because the provincial exam is in February, and the results will come out two months later, which is April. If we still have to socialize and select officials in April, then it will be May, right? Because of the provincial exam in February next year, no one had a good New Year's Day, and this year Master Jiang Liu strongly urged us to go back to the old house to celebrate. Jiang Xian was extremely reluctant to go back, but there was nothing he could do. His parents were still there, and they had only divided the property but not the family, so he had to go back.
However, the only fun thing about going back this time was that before, Xu claimed to be the daughter of an official, but now Jiang Xian is the top scholar in the mansion, and Jiang Yan ranks behind him. Xu started to act like a sister-in-law again, but now Jinniang will not give in.
For example, before the New Year, Xu asked Jinniang to come and prepare food for the sacrifice. Jinniang asked her which ones she wanted to prepare and they could just make them in Tianshui Lane and send them over. Xu then said she wanted to get up in the dark and do it by hand.
This is completely Xu's own fault, and he is dragging others into it.
Jinniang asked Zheng about these unreasonable requests and said, "Madam, you don't know. My child is still young and I have to take care of him at night. I also have to work in the embroidery shop during the day. I am afraid it is not possible for me to come here specially."
Zheng and Xu were already fighting fiercely. After hearing what Jinniang said, she hurriedly said, "You don't have to come over. If you tell others, they will think that our family treats you harshly as a daughter-in-law. There is no reason for us to do that."
Zheng's words made Xu so angry that she fell backwards.
The first month of the year was over and it was almost February. Jiang Xian stayed up later and later at night and had some insomnia.
Jinniang had already warmed up the quilt for him with a hot water bottle, and when she saw him lying beside her, she massaged his solar plexus and patted his shoulders, only in this way could Jiang Xian fall asleep. Because Jinniang was a chronic insomnia patient for a period of time, she would feel pain here and there, and massage would be enough.
Because of this, Jiang Xian became more and more dependent on Jinniang, really very dependent on her.
This time, Jinniang prepared the test basket herself. With the experience from last time, she was more skilled this time. While she was preparing, Jiang Fang and Miss Zhou San came to her house once. Jinniang thought that Jiang Fang had never come to her house before, but she didn't show it on her face and still had him entertain her well.
Jiang Fang saw that Jiang Xian had just put the words he had just written aside, and his brother's handwriting was getting better and better.
Jiang Xian knew that Jiang Fang and Zhou Cunzhi were very similar in character. Both of them were unruly and they were also relatives by marriage, so he smiled and said, "Tenth brother, please sit down. I'll ask my wife to come over and greet you."
After that, he asked someone to invite Jinniang over. Before they got married, Jiang Fang was very much against this marriage. But now, after going through a lot, when I saw Jinniang again, I was impressed by her clear eyes, outstanding appearance, and kind attitude towards others, which made me like her more.
"Why don't you have your meal here with my sister-in-law? I heard from my husband that my second uncle likes to eat donkey meat. The donkey meat of the Pan family nearby is famous far and wide. I'll ask them to deliver it." Jinniang said with a smile.
Although Jiang Fang was not very polite when speaking to Jiang Xian, seeing Jinniang being so warm and polite, he hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, don't be too busy."
Jinniang said, "What are you talking about, Second Uncle?"
Anyway, just let Chen Xiaolang order one. Besides, Miss Zhou San once mentioned during a chat that Jiang Fang liked to eat donkey meat. Jinniang happened to remember it after hearing it.
The two brothers ate together, while Jinniang ate with Miss Zhou San. During the meal, she felt very emotional, as in the past, the Third Miss sat while she had to stand, but now they could sit at the same table.
Not only Jinniang thought so, but Miss Zhou San also felt the same way.
The encounters in life are really hard to predict.
On the day of Jiang Xian's provincial examination, Jinniang personally escorted him there and helped him straighten his fur coat: "You must wear your hood. Although it is the beginning of spring, it is still cold and makes you shiver."
"I have a new fur coat made by my wife, so what do I have to be afraid of?" Jiang Xian looked at the new sable fur coat on his body and didn't feel cold at all.
Jinniang used the fifty taels of silver given by Kaifeng Prefecture to buy leather, and sewed black and gold Zhang velvet on the outside, which looked luxurious, but because she was afraid that Jiang Xian would look old, Jinniang also matched a light blue padded jacket for him inside, which made him look very noble. She even worried that his ears would get cold, so she made him ear warmers of the same light blue color.
Arriving at the location, Jiang Xian jumped off the carriage. As expected, a gust of cold wind blew over. He hurriedly said, "My lady, there is no need to get off the carriage. It is too cold outside."
"I understand. Then study hard in the exam and don't worry about your family." Jinniang advised.
Jiang Xian nodded.
The two were talking when they saw some candidates from the south who were going to Beijing start coughing and having runny nose, and some asked for doctors. Jinniang even saw Feng Sheng waiting beside them with a medicine box. He was always very hardworking.
In fact, Lou Si Niang was also thinking about this question. When she sent the herbs over, she asked Feng Sheng, "You have high expectations for your children and hope that they can study hard and become Jinshi in the future. But why don't you use the ready-made connections in front of you? I think his aunt Jiang is not a bad person either."
Feng Sheng smiled faintly and said nothing.
Lou Si Niang thought to herself that her husband usually made friends with people in high positions, so what happened now?
…
The provincial examination lasted for three days. Jinniang was waiting at home, but she never stopped working.
Aying brought them all chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea, which is a tea that improves eyesight. People who do embroidery must protect their eyes. Putting down the teacup, she asked again, "Madam, can the Jia family's goods be shipped today?"
"Yes, the quilt covers of the Jia family have been embroidered and just need to be sewn. I will sew together with Zhu Xiu Niang later." Jin Niang rubbed her eyes.
After they finished sewing the quilt, Minzhi wrapped it in a bundle and went to deliver it with Chen Xiaolang.
At this time, Jinniang looked at the sky and thought that Jiang Xian should be back. Jiang Xian did come back soon, but he was exhausted from the exam. He ate a bowl of quail noodles and fell asleep immediately. He slept for two whole days before he recovered.
Jinniang waited for him to wake up, and seeing that he looked a little unhappy, she hurriedly asked, "How did you do in the exam this time?"
If you fail the provincial examination, you have to retake the examination. But if you pass the provincial examination, the palace examination is just a matter of ranking.
Jiang Xian didn't want his wife to be happy for nothing, so he just said, "It's up to the examiner to decide how I did on the exam."
He kept his mouth shut like a clam, and Jinniang was also very nervous. Fortunately, there was a lot of embroidery work and she was also busy, so sometimes she would forget about this matter.
On the day of announcing the list, everyone changed into spring clothes. Jiang Xian was reluctant to let Jinniang squeeze in, so he quickly hired a few idle men to check the list. But Jinniang didn't listen to her. She wore a veil on her head and squeezed to the front. She read ten lines at a glance and finally saw Jiang Xian's name.
Rang Cai stroked his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, then went back to find Jiang Xian. Seeing Jiang Xian laughing secretly, he hurriedly said, "You were lying to me on purpose, weren't you? You made me very worried."
Jiang Xian raised his hands: "I am so wronged."
After the palace examination, Jinniang calmed down and went to see the list. She asked the idle man to look at the list and copy it out.
The eighth person in the first class is Jiang Xian, whose courtesy name is Shushi and nickname is Xianger. Yan Shixia, 22 years old, was born at 1:00 p.m. on the sixth day of the third lunar month, with a maternal surname of Liu. He passed the imperial examination with his brother Yan, who also passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. He married Wei. His great-grandfather Hao was the Vice-Chancellor, the Co-Prime Minister of the Secretariat, and the Grand Secretary of the Jixian Hall. He was posthumously awarded the title of Duke of Ming. His grandfather was Yao and his father was Tiancheng. My father’s hometown is Kaifeng Prefecture.
Jinniang read it three times. Seeing her happy, Jiang Xian felt even happier than when he saw the list himself.
"Oh my God, from now on, am I the wife of a Jinshi?" Jinniang was finally happy.
Jiang Xian smiled slightly: "Yes, my wife has taken good care of me!"
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