Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Two Chapters Combined
Walking around the Dou Mansion, one can see flying eaves, carved beams and painted buildings, a truly opulent scene. Jinniang thought that Mrs. Dou had married into the Jiang family during its heyday. Jiang was only Prime Minister Jiang's niece, but she was his granddaughter, so the husband she chose should also be very extraordinary.
As I was thinking about this, I saw a man walking towards me. He looked to be in his thirties, wearing wide-sleeved clothes, with his hair tied up with an ebony hairpin. He looked a bit unruly.
Mother Lan quickly bowed: "Fourth Master."
He then hurriedly introduced Jiang Xian: "Sixteenth Young Master, this is our Fourth Young Master."
Jiang Xian stepped forward, bowed, and quickly sang his name, behaving very modestly, not being arrogant because he had passed the imperial examination.
When Mr. Dou Si saw that Jiang Xiansheng was handsome and outstanding, wearing a brocade robe and a jade crown, he looked like a child of an aristocratic family, and he also looked like a scholar, so he hurriedly said to Mama Lan, "If you want to rest assured, I will take his nephew out for a trip in Yangzhou City."
Mother Lan smiled and said, "It is a great fortune that Young Master Sixteen can come to see our wife. He is about to take up his post in Wu County."
Master Dou Si was startled. He didn't expect Jiang Xian to be an official. He smiled even more and became more enthusiastic. Jinniang saw it clearly from the side and realized that the imperial examination was indeed the most important thing nowadays, especially in the Jiangnan region where the literary style was particularly strong.
"Fourth Master, my wife is still waiting..." said Mother Lan.
Master Dou Si then said goodbye and left. When he walked, he looked quite unrestrained and uninhibited, with a bit of the style of the Wei and Jin dynasties.
Mother Lan introduced them, "The fourth master is our lady's youngest son. He is the best poet and was famous in Yangzhou when he was twelve years old. But for some reason, he performed mediocrely in the imperial examinations when he grew up. Later, he simply stopped taking the imperial examinations. He loved to meet scholars the most."
Jiang Xian just smiled. He seldom judged others easily.
Mrs. Dou's main room is in the third courtyard, with white walls and black tiles, like an ink painting.
Jinniang didn't have time to take a closer look, so she followed Jiang Xian in. The first floor was a flower hall specially used for entertaining guests. Soon, she saw a woman in her forties coming out, supported by a girl of twelve or thirteen. Judging from her clothes, this woman should be Dou's second wife, Jiang.
Sure enough, Mother Lan immediately introduced that this was Mrs. Eighth Aunt.
Just as Jinniang was about to bow with Jiang Xian, Madam Dou Er pulled her back and said, "Don't be so polite. I haven't seen my family in Yangzhou for a long time. This is a good idea."
As he spoke, he asked someone to serve tea.
Although they were relatives, in fact, Madam Dou had been married since Jiang Xian was born, and the two sides were not familiar with each other. However, you still have to pretend to be particularly familiar with it.
This would test the skills of both parties. Jiang Xian was an expert in this field. He could not help but say, "In the future, my nephew will be employed in Wu County. Although it is only a minor position, if my aunt has any business, she can just send him there. Anyway, Wu County and Yangzhou are not far away. Now I am letting my cousin go there together. My nephew's wife is very virtuous."
For Mrs. Dou Er, who had originally wanted to seek help from Jiang Xian, these words were like a perfect match. She looked at her young nephew again. Although he was successful at a young age, he was modest and prudent, and seemed very reliable.
Such soothing words even made her eyes red. The little girl beside her hurriedly handed her a handkerchief and said, "Mom, don't cry. Now that my cousin is here, we are all saved. Just tell me if you have anything to say."
Madam Dou Er pressed her handkerchief under her eyes and said a little embarrassedly, "Look at this girl, she just talks too fast."
"Aunt, if you have anything to say, just tell me. Aren't relatives supposed to help each other?" Jinniang said.
Originally, she should have been called Eighth Aunt, but Jiang Xian omitted the word "eight", and Jinniang also said the same.
Madam Dou Er took Jinniang's hand and said, "I can tell you are a virtuous person just by listening to you speak." She also asked someone to give Jinniang a set of headgear.
This headpiece features a phoenix hairpin with gold threads, a gold comb, filigree earrings inlaid with gems, agate beads, and a jadeite bracelet.
All of them were of the highest quality. Jinniang quickly declined: "Aunt, you are too polite. I, your nephew's wife, dare not accept such a generous gift."
The so-called courtesy must be given in return. It can be a small favor like helping someone out. But if it is something like murder or arson that goes against morality or affects the reputation of an official, then that is not acceptable.
Jiang Xian was very satisfied, because although his wife loved to make money, she preferred to make money that belonged to her, and she didn't want anything that didn't belong to her.
When Mrs. Dou saw that Jinniang refused to accept it, she started to cry, but Jinniang pretended not to see it.
Then, Madam Dou Er dismissed the servants and told the truth. It turned out that Master Dou Er favored his concubine over his wife. After Madam Dou Er entered the house, the concubine also entered the house right after him, and the two of them gave birth to sons one after the other. The concubine even gave birth to two sons and had a high status in the family. Three years ago, she even brought her niece into the house.
"That niece is beautiful, but people don't respect her. My brother Bo didn't say a word to her the few times he met her by chance, but gradually, he even told me that he wanted to marry her." Madam Dou was so angry that she felt dizzy.
Jiang Xian said: "It's normal for a young man to admire Qing Ai. Why not just send the girl away?"
There are always some "romantic" people in a family, and the fifteenth brother from the seventh branch of the Jiang family is one of them.
Madam Dou Er said, "He talked to me again a few days ago, but I still disagreed. He disappeared yesterday, along with the woman."
Missing? Jinniang said: "Since he is missing, why don't we just go and look for him?"
Madam Dou II shook her head: "No, we can't look for it in a big way. We have to keep it a secret."
Jiang Xian and Jin Niang looked at each other, both feeling strange. Madam Dou Er said, "In two days, your uncle will be back. The eldest son's family has no children, so they originally valued your cousin."
"Aunt, how are your concubine's two sons doing in school?" Jiang Xian suddenly asked.
Although Madam Dou didn't want to admit it, she still said, "He is a bit cunning, just a little clever."
That being said, Jiang Xian still had something to not understand. He stood up and said, "Okay, I know how to find my cousin."
He is a very smart man. The reason why he can be liked by others so quickly is that he specializes in doing difficult things in order to please others.
Jinniang didn't know what he was thinking, so she followed Lan Mama to the guest room to rest. She then told Lan Mama that she wanted to hire someone and asked her if she knew any matchmakers. Lan Mama smiled and said, "It's no problem. We can just send a few people over when the time comes."
"How can this be so embarrassing?" Jinniang said.
After Mother Lan settled them down, she sent Madam Dou's daughter over. Jinniang saw that she was learning needlework and was able to give her some pointers. Miss Dou's given name was Yuan, and she was quite outspoken. Knowing that Jiang Xian was here to help her mother, she happily chatted with Jinniang: "What is Bianjing like? Is it the same as our Yangzhou?"
"Bianjing and Yangzhou have similarities and differences." Jinniang tried to talk to her about some light-hearted topics.
"There are many people playing polo near Jinming Lake, some of them are women. There is also Daxiangguo Temple, which is open five times a month. It is a place where thousands of people trade. All kinds of rare animals and precious things can be found there."
For a little girl who lives in seclusion, the outside world is very attractive.
Jinniang smiled again and said, "It's not a big deal. When we get to Wu County and settle down, we'll invite you to come over and play."
Dou Yuan sighed, "I definitely want to go, but my mother can't leave. Cousin, you don't know, this little girl in our family always bullies my mother. My father listens to the little girl and often quarrels with my mother."
Jinniang had seen many cases of wives and concubines fighting in wealthy families, so she could only comfort Dou Yuan: "The adults always have their own way of dealing with the world. You just live your life well, which is better than anything else."
Just like her parents' lives, even if she can control them for a while, she can't control them for a lifetime.
Or maybe her own life, as happy and fulfilling as it is now, may not always be the same in the future.
I heard from Mother Lan that when Eighth Aunt first came into the family, although Master Dou had a concubine, he still treated her as an equal.
Dou Yuan liked Jinniang very much. Her needlework seemed very good. She even taught her how to embroider a fan just now, which was much better than the ones she bought. And she always smiles. It's so nice and peaceful to be with her. It's completely different from home.
The house was always filled with quarrels between the mother, the father and the little girl. The father complained that the mother was not magnanimous, the little girl fanned the flames, and the mother complained that the father was not only incompetent but also favored his concubine over his wife.
"Cousin, Sister Yun's clothes are so beautiful." Dou Yuan saw Sister Yun wearing a light goose yellow fan with yellow wind chimes embroidered on the collar. She was wearing a carp green folded skirt with loquats and goldfinches embroidered on the hem. The loquats were sprinkled with gold powder, which looked sparkling.
Jinniang smiled and said, "If you like it, I'll make you a set when I have some free time."
"Thank you very much, cousin." Dou Yuan said, hugging Jinniang's arm.
But they planned to rest for a day at the Dou family. The Dou family was quite knowledgeable about etiquette. Madam Dou II also took her to meet other elders of the Dou family, and she received quite a few gifts. Jiang Xian had dinner with the other boys of the Dou family, and when he felt like it, he would go boating.
Jinniang looked at Madam Dou Er apologetically and said, "My dear husband is having a lot of fun, please don't be offended, aunt."
Madam Dou Er glanced at the concubine behind her and said, "Sixteenth Brother has always had the demeanor of the Wei and Jin Dynasties."
"Thank you very much, aunt, for your concern." Jinniang smiled.
She took the children to sleep first. Today, Mother Fang was by their side to serve them. She sent Aying back to look after the luggage on the boat with Minzhi and his wife. Fortunately, the boat they hired was supposed to stay at the ferry port in Yangzhou for a few more days, so Jinniang was in a mood to enjoy it.
Early in the morning, Jiang Xian came back in high spirits and brought back two famous delicacies from Yangzhou City for Jinniang.
Jinniang was washing up at this time. When she saw him coming back, she immediately asked, "What's up with you?"
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Jiang Xian smiled.
In fact, Jinniang knew what Jiang Xian was doing. He was indeed well versed in human nature. He probably already knew that Dou's son was missing or even eloped suddenly, and that it was that young woman who was behind this. If that was the case, he might as well scare that young woman and make her son appear missing. The concubine would definitely be anxious.
If the concubine is fooled, the Dou family's son will definitely find out soon. If the concubine insists on not telling the truth, then the Dou family's eldest master will be in trouble when he returns.
After Jiang Xian came to see Jinniang and the children, he went to see Madam Dou Er.
Madam Dou Er was originally like a headless fly, but now with Jiang Xian's help, she suddenly stood up. Wasn’t my son seduced away by your niece?
Well, now your son has also been taken away by my nephew, so stop pretending.
Naturally, the concubine came to ask once, but as a woman it was not easy for her to talk to a male relative, so she had to send someone to look for Master Dou Er. However, Jiang Xian was having a banquet outside with Master Dou Er and Master Dou Si, so she couldn't find anyone.
At night, because Jiang Xian, a relative of his mother's, was there, Master Dou Er naturally came to Madam Dou Er's place to rest, which made the concubine even more panicked.
Jiang Xian could drink a lot, so even though he drank a lot, he became much more sober after coming back and drinking some honey water.
Jinniang wrung out a hot handkerchief and gave it to him: "You've drunk a lot of wine these days, so have a good rest." She felt sorry for her husband because she knew that although he liked to have a few drinks, he was not an alcoholic.
"Fortunately, I wrote a few landscape poems today, and I feel much better." Jiang Xian told Jinniang about his feelings.
Jinniang shook her head: "When scholars and writers come to Jiangnan, there are always many poems about Jiangnan, which are amazing. However, I felt that Yu Xin's "Lament for Jiangnan" was okay, but when I read "Fu on the Dead Tree" and wrote about 'heavy layers of broken brocade, pieces of real flowers; scattered grass and trees, scattered clouds and mist', I was very amazed by his talent."
This is an interesting statement. What you write in this situation may not be the best, but if you think about Jiangnan when you are somewhere else and beautify Jiangnan in your mind, you may be able to write better.
"Madam, you usually refuse to discuss poetry with me and say that you don't understand. But I see that you never put down your book and what you say is always unexpected and reasonable." Jiang Xian looked at Jinniang.
Jinniang waved her hand and said, "I won't show off my skills in front of you. My three skills are not enough. However, you haven't taken up the position yet, so you should be cautious in everything."
Jiang Xian nodded: "Don't worry, I'm afraid that concubine won't be able to hold back tomorrow."
Because Master Dou will be home soon.
"But what if she doesn't fall for it?" This is what Jinniang was most worried about.
Jiang Xian looked at Jinniang and said seriously, "If it was you, you might not be fooled, and you might not do such a stupid thing, but if it was an ordinary woman in the harem, I'm afraid she would be able to do it."
Jinniang was surprised, and looked at her husband, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Thank you for your compliment."
"However, if Eighth Aunt handles this matter alone, there may be problems, and the Second Branch will be completely ruined. But with me here, I will definitely be able to help her." Jiang Xian said.
The next day, Jinniang went to see Mrs. Dou first. Mrs. Dou was anxious but didn't show it to others. I can only find something to talk to Jinniang about. Jinniang saw that Jiang Xian was in charge before, so she didn't say much, for fear of causing misunderstanding, but as the saying goes, don't bother two people with the same matter.
But she knew that although Jiang Xian had means, he was a man after all, and he could not understand some of the twists and turns in the harem, so she drank a cup of tea before deliberately bringing up the topic: "Aunt, I met your third wife yesterday, and she looked very kind. I heard that she also has a son, I wonder how talented he is?"
"Ye'er? Ye'er is a good boy. But, he was born in July and has always been in poor health. He is always sick from being bumped by this or that." Every time Madam Dou saw her third brother's wife's child, she was glad that her son was in good health.
Jinniang thought to herself, the fourth branch of the Dou family, the eldest branch has no sons, the fourth branch has only three daughters, and only the second branch has many sons. If the three sons of the second branch kill each other, the third branch will probably get the upper hand.
The son of the third wife is sickly and unable to take the imperial examination. In the future, he may be able to get a favor from Master Dou, so even if he is not adopted, it is still possible.
Even Mrs. Dou San's hands were clean. She only needed to instigate a few words and the concubine, who was narrow-minded and greedy for profit, would act quickly.
Of course, these are just her guesses.
"Cousin, can you help me draw another flower pattern?" Dou Yuan said with a smile.
Jinniang was helping Dou Yuan draw the shape of a peony flower in front of the eight-immortals table in the inner room. From copying to finishing the draft, she quickly got the feeling. Dou Yuan was delighted when she saw this and kept surrounding Jinniang.
Only when the second master Dou and his concubine came to visit did Jinniang take Dou Yuan out.
When Master Dou Er came in, he asked Madam Dou Er anxiously, "Where are they? Why are Er Lang and San Lang missing?"
Madam Dou Er spread her hands and said, "Master, what you are asking is strange. If they are missing, you will go to the authorities to report it. It has nothing to do with me. These two children have always been raised in my mother's room. I am not allowed to take care of them. Now that they are missing, you are looking for me."
The concubine couldn't help but jump out and said, "But my son went out to eat with your nephew and never came back. My son..."
"Don't even mention your son. Even my son and your nephew are missing, aren't they?" Madam Dou looked at her.
Master Dou Er frowned: "What? Da Lang is missing too."
"How strange! My son has been missing for three days, but I, as a father, don't know anything." Mrs. Dou was so angry that she laughed.
The concubine quickly pretended to be dead, and Madam Dou II looked at her and said, "At worst, we will both perish together."
"What are you talking about, madam? How would I know this?" The concubine stepped back in panic.
Master Dou Er looked at the weak concubine and said to his usually strong wife, "She is just a concubine and a servant. Your own son is missing and you didn't say anything, but you blame her."
Sometimes, Mrs. Dou Er thought that she really didn’t know whose fault it was that the couple lived like this. Therefore, she turned her heart cold and looked at Master Dou Er and the concubine: "I'll say it again, if my son is not by my side, we will all die together."
Seeing her like this, the concubine was a little scared and whispered, "Since she disappeared with Xue'er, I'll go ask."
How far could two people without even a pass run? They even rarely went out, and once they left Yangzhou City, they didn't even know where they were. The concubine asked her brother to bring the person back overnight, and at the same time, the concubine's two sons also came back.
The concubine ran over in panic: "My sons, are you suffering?"
The two sons laughed and said, "No, cousin Jiang took us to a place to collect folk songs, and we happened to bring back some paintings."
The concubine wanted to complain to Master Dou Er, but Master Dou Er said happily: "Open your paintings and let me see them."
The two sons unfolded the paintings again. Master Dou Er began to appreciate them immediately. The concubine felt that she had a bad family. Madam Dou Er understood that Master Dou Er clearly did not dare to offend the Jiang family.
But she understood her husband and doted on her son unconditionally.
The eldest son of the Dou family was also a spoiled child. After he was found, he not only did not feel that his mother had gone through so much trouble to find him, but instead said, "Mother, please fulfill your son's wish."
Madam Dou was so angry that she felt dizzy, but Jiang Xian was quite good at talking: "Isn't this your cousin? I was very moved when I heard about your relationship with that girl. It's like a peacock flying southeast, it lingers every five miles."
Dou Dalang was in his rebellious youth. The more others opposed him, the more he indulged himself in it. Now that he saw that Jiang Xian also agreed with him, he looked completely relaxed.
However, Jiang Xian said, "Come to think of it, I have a relative who was just like you, but he ended up marrying a beautiful woman. Guess how it happened?"
Dou Dalang asked hurriedly: "Cousin, please teach me."
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "My relative's family didn't agree at first, but later he was admitted to the Imperial College and was chosen as a son-in-law by a wealthy family. The woman's dowry was more than 5,000 strings of cash. Later, his wife was very virtuous. Seeing that her husband already had a beloved woman, she took the initiative to help him marry her. You eloped like this, it was really too reckless. You two have no documents and no status, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to survive in a foreign place. If she really loves you, it doesn't matter if she becomes a concubine, as long as you don't separate, isn't it fine?"
…
Jinniang listened for a long time and said in astonishment: "You are also a wicked person."
"I think Master Dou will be back soon. If Dalang is really adopted in the future, wouldn't it be a good thing for me?" Jiang Xian only told his wife about his plan.
But the wife shook her head.
"Doesn't my wife agree?"
Jinniang smiled and said, "I always think that people should not get too involved in other people's karma, just like good words can't save a dying ghost. We came here to help our relatives. Since we have helped, we should go to our new post earlier. Dou Dalang is such a grown man, but he doesn't see his mother's efforts for him and his sister is worried about him. Even if he really passes the imperial examination, I think he is just a fool."
She never believed in the saying that a prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold, so she added: "First, he can't tell right from wrong. That girl is the niece of his mother's enemy, but he turned a blind eye. Second, he clearly knows that his father is useless and the future and fate of his mother and sister depend on him, but he has no idea. He is even more heartless and ungrateful. You told him the truth, saying that it was the concubine who caused the trouble, but he was still confused and only thought about his own little love. Such a person is like this to his own mother, how can you expect him to do anything?"
"Madam, this is really insightful." Jiang Xian suddenly realized.
Jinniang told what she saw in the inner house of the Dou family. "The Dou family is very treacherous. I asked Madam Lan to find out whether Mrs. Dou San had been to the concubine's courtyard. I didn't expect that she had really been there secretly. We can only remind her here. If Aunt and Dou Dalang can't do it themselves, we helped them this time, but they might fall into their schemes again next time."
Jiang Xian had not thought of this yet. He thought it was just a fight between his wives and concubines, but he did not expect it to be like this.
"Madam, what do you mean?" Jiang Xian asked sincerely.
Jinniang smiled and said, "I know you want to make connections, but don't forget what I told you, I will take care of the towering trees. Since we are only here to help my aunt, let's stop here. Otherwise, don't blame me for not reminding you that you can't get rid of the tail. Anyway, I don't think highly of the Dou family."
For the sake of short-term interests, I don't know how much I will have to clean up their messes in the future when tofu falls into the dust.
Somehow Jiang Xian suddenly felt that his wife was more suitable to be an official than himself. She seemed to get along very well with her aunt and cousin, but when she did things, she was very calm, composed, objective, even sharp. He didn't even know that there was the matter of Madam Dou San behind this.
What's rare is that although the Dou family is so wealthy, my wife doesn't want to gain wealth and connections from them. Instead, she thinks that the Dou family will not be successful in the long run.
Therefore, just allow yourself to interact with ordinary relatives and don't let yourself get too close.
"Okay, I promise my lady." Jiang Xian agreed obediently.
Jinniang said, "Okay, let's go back to the boat."
Seeing that the couple was about to leave, Mrs. Dou Er hurriedly tried to keep them, and even Dou Dalang followed suit. Jiang Xian had no choice but to say against his will: "I came to see my aunt. Now that my cousin is back, why should I stay any longer? My aunt doesn't know that I have to hurry to take up my post."
Madam Dou was deeply moved when she heard this. She prepared a generous gift and gave three maids to Jinniang and the others. Jinniang felt uncomfortable and gave Dou Yuan a pattern book she had drawn herself and two top-quality folded skirts embroidered with broken branch flowers.
Jiang Xian glanced at Jinniang. Amidst so many complicated situations, the lady still remembered the purpose of adding someone to the family. She is really a remarkable person. No matter what the environment or situation, she will definitely do what she wants to do.
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