Chapter 88 Chapter 88 Two chapters merged into one
In late autumn, golden leaves swirled down from the branches. The maids got up early in the morning, collected the dead branches and leaves under the porch in the yard in dustpans, sprinkled water and continued to sweep. Smoke was rising from the kitchen, and the water delivery man had arrived with a cart.
The yard was peaceful and harmonious. After Jinniang pushed the door open, she looked full of energy.
She doesn't have to bury herself in needlework these days, and her health is indeed much better. Today is Jiang Xian's ten-day day off, and he plans to take Jinniang and his children out for a trip.
The most comfortable days are when the weather is neither too hot nor too cold; just a padded jacket is enough.
Under Jinniang's instruction, Yunjie has learned a lot of "Thousand Character Classic", "The Analects of Confucius" and famous Tang Dynasty poems. Because she is too young now, her family plans to hire a teacher after she turns six.
Fortunately, the child has a very good memory. Jiang Xian also likes his daughter's intelligence and often teaches her to read.
It was just by chance that she saw the female coroner. Jinniang nodded slightly, but Fang Mama didn't like her very much. She just said, "The hands of the lady in our county government office may not be clean. Why don't we see her taking action? She always makes trouble for others."
Although Jinniang didn't like her moral blackmail, this female coroner was said to be very dedicated in her work. She was always on call no matter when and where, and never shirked her responsibilities. She was much more dedicated than the male coroner.
The coroner's wife felt a little ashamed. The last time the county lieutenant's wife spoke to her like that, she reflected that she was also a bully who only bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Fortunately, since that day, the county lieutenant's wife has not targeted her and even greeted her just now.
It is also said that the group first arrived at a tile house, and Jiang Xian specially asked someone to find a good seat for them. They ordered a pot of tea and a few plates of snacks so that they could watch some performances.
First there was a song sung, which was "Bosuan Zi". The lyrics were very good and Jinniang even copied them down.
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "I didn't expect that my wife would carry a pen and paper with her."
"I'm used to it. Besides, you scholars carry poetry bags with you wherever you go." After Jinniang finished writing, she handed it to Jiang Xian to read.
Jiang Xian glanced at Jinniang and wrote a poem "Nian Nujiao". Jinniang looked at him coquettishly, wondering what kind of love poem this guy is writing.
Looking up and seeing the restaurant across the street decorated with lights and colors, she said to Jiang Xian, "It seems that Pingjiang is not worse than Bianjing. The main restaurant here is also very grand."
"That's owned by the Gu family in this county." Jiang Xian said.
Gu family? Jinniang smiled and said, "Last time I went to Zijin Temple, I did meet someone from the Gu family. They gave us a fan, which is the one I brought back."
Somehow, seeing Jiang Xian's puzzled expression, Jinniang asked in confusion: "What's the matter? Do you have any doubts about the Gu family?"
Jiang Xian shook his head: "Nothing, I just heard that the Gu family doesn't have many children, and Master Gu only has two daughters. If he can't choose a good heir during his lifetime, I'm afraid he will have to go to the government to sue for inheritance in the future."
Jinniang also sighed, but she came out today just to have fun, so she said, "After watching the sumo, let's go for a boat trip."
"Okay." Jiang Xian naturally accompanied him.
You have to know that Jiang Xian was also very depressed. His superior, Fenghou County Magistrate, interfered in all his affairs, big and small. This man was also a cruel official, which made him feel a little troubled and he had no control over many things.
But this was his first time in the new position, and he had to be patient with many things.
He still relaxed when he was with his wife and children, but such days were few and far between. The next day, he heard that there was a thief. However, the Meixian Wei was not in Wu County because someone reported a lawsuit regarding a grave dispute. Jiang Xian asked someone to invite the Meixian Wei back, but he again said he had something else to do.
Jiang Xian said: "In that case, I will lead my men there."
He was a child of an aristocratic family, skilled in archery and horse riding, and he even wanted to make a career for himself, so he couldn't always be controlled by the Meixian Wei.
Although Jinniang was a little worried, she herself was a person who was very dedicated to her career. Seeing Jiang Xian like this, she was quite supportive. Everyone lived in the back house of the county government office. As soon as Jiang Xian left, Bao Niang came over.
"Sister Wei, why are you alone at home? I thought your husband was at home and didn't dare to come over." Mrs. Bao said.
Jinniang said worriedly, "Didn't he say that there were bandits causing trouble and he took people to hunt them down?"
Mrs. Bao said hurriedly, "That won't do. County Magistrate Jiang is a well-mannered man, how can he do this? I'd better tell my husband right away. Dear sister, don't worry, I'll send someone to deliver the message right away."
"Then I'll leave it to you, sister." Jinniang thought to herself that Magistrate Mei wanted to show some favor to her family.
After all, he was just an ordinary military officer, and it was not easy for him to move up. However, scholars like Jiang Xian had such high rankings in the imperial examinations, and if they were promoted in the future, they would surely rise to great heights.
But he still wants to be nice to you and make you accept his favor.
When Jinniang saw Madam Bao walking away quickly, she thought to herself, you really don’t understand Jiang Xian. Don't be fooled by his thin appearance. Apart from being afraid of ghosts, he can play with hawks, drive a carriage, dance with swords, and shoot arrows. He is quite capable.
However, after Bao Niangzi sent someone to pass a message to her husband, the Meixian Wei was ready to rescue the people in high spirits. However, he did not expect that when he arrived at Yangshu Village, the bandits jumped into the river cunningly. It is said that Jiang Xian jumped into the river directly to catch people.
Mei County Magistrate was stunned: "Brothers, find someone quickly."
If something really happened to Jiang Xian, he would be the target of public criticism.
When he rushed forward, he saw Jiang Xian swimming back with someone in his arms, saying, "The thief leader has been caught, the thief leader has been caught."
The Meixian lieutenant was stunned.
…
Jinniang asked the kitchen staff to make ginger soup and handed it to him personally: "Come, have a bowl of hot ginger soup."
"Not spicy." Jiang Xian took a sip and was a little surprised.
Jinniang smiled and said, "It's too spicy. I was afraid you wouldn't like it, so I put some brown sugar in it."
Jinniang herself couldn't imagine going into the water to catch thieves in the autumn. When she came back, everyone said that they thought Jiang Xian was a civil servant, but they never expected that he was also very capable in fighting.
Jinniang would not scold Jiang Xian, nor would she be overly concerned. She was just very curious: "How can you swim? I grew up in Jiangling, and I don't even dare to go swimming casually."
"When I was a child, I heard that Wang Xizhi raised geese to practice calligraphy, so I also wanted to raise a goose in the garden. But that goose was so mean and always pecked me. One time, it even chased me into the pond. Fortunately, my mother pulled me up. Later, my mother remembered that my eighth aunt almost drowned, so she asked someone to teach me how to swim." Jiang Xian still feels scared when he thinks of the goose pecking his butt.
In the past, Jinniang seldom asked about Jiang Xian's childhood. When she met Jiang Xian, he was still young, but he could play polo and solve problems without making a fuss.
I didn't expect there would be such an interesting thing. Jinniang said, "Mother is really good to you."
Jiang Xian nodded: "But even if I am capable now, I still can't be filial to my mother."
Jinniang sighed with him, then looked at him and asked, "Are you still afraid of geese now?"
Jiang Xian was still frightened: "You haven't tasted the power of geese, you don't know, they are really powerful when pecking at people."
"This goose is so bad. When I was a kid living in Shaanxi with my parents, my mother raised a few big roosters. The big roosters were so nice. She even let me ride them." Jinniang was an only child for the first nine years after she traveled through time, and her mother doted on her very much.
Jiang Xian glanced at Jinniang and said in astonishment, "Have you really sat on a big rooster?"
He once heard someone from the Zhou family say that Jinniang was originally chubby, but then somehow became thin. At that time, someone even said in private to him that Jinniang might have become thin after having a miscarriage.
Mrs. Jiang Liu and Jiang Xian didn't believe it and thought those people were slandering them maliciously. In fact, after getting married, Jiang Xian also realized that those people's talk was nonsense.
But I think of my wife, a chubby little girl riding a skinny cock...
The scene was so beautiful that he couldn't even imagine it.
Jinniang pouted: "The big rooster can still fly."
Jiang Xian laughed out loud, but he also felt much better.
However, when Jiang Xian captured the bandits this time, he did not say anything wrong about Mei County Lieutenant in front of the county magistrate. Instead, he said that it was with Mei County Lieutenant's cooperation that he was able to handle the case smoothly, so the case was written with the joint names of the two.
Mei County Magistrate originally thought that Jiang Xian would take revenge on him, but he did not expect Jiang Xian to do so, and from then on he was convinced.
Naturally, Jiang Xian occasionally revealed that he had someone above him, who would speak a few words for Mei County Magistrate if he made any political achievements. So Mei County Magistrate was extremely cooperative with Jiang Xian.
Because the Meixian Wei himself was a military officer with no background, if he could marry a Jinshi like Jiang Xian, he would have no worries about his official career for at least 20 years.
As a county lieutenant, Jiang Xian was responsible not only for criminal justice matters but also river engineering. River engineering was naturally a very difficult task.
However, Jiang Xian had already made up his mind about his political achievements, so there was no way he would back down, nor was he willing to be Magistrate Hou's puppet. Moreover, he said to Jinniang at night: "I must make some achievements while I am in office. If the county magistrate and I get along peacefully, we can each do our job and live in peace. But if he hinders my future, I will definitely not let him go."
Today was the first day he went to the river works, and he discovered that the timber merchants and some fortresses were filled with County Magistrate Hou's men. These people had already been tied to a vine, and all of them were sold at high prices, and the silver allocated by the river works was limited.
"Xianlang, as an assistant official, you should keep quiet first and not act rashly." Jinniang couldn't help but advise.
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "Well, I'm sending someone to check this person's background, don't worry."
After the beginning of winter, the weather suddenly turned gloomy and cold. The cold in the south is different from the cold in the north. The cold in the south is so cold that it goes deep into the bones. Jinniang herself is from the south. But the really cold times are only about two months, and we usually just need to wear a padded jacket.
The clothes that Ning Ge'er was wearing were all the padded jackets that Yun Jie'er wore when she was one or two years old. They had been starched and washed and still looked very new. These clothes had only been worn a few times and were washed and put away at the time. Now he was finding them one by one.
"Ning'er's clothes are washed with rose-scented soap pods." Jinniang said.
Peilan quickly agreed and went to the big kitchen to fetch hot water to wash clothes.
Two moments later, Ah Ying came over and said, "Madam, Peilan said that when she went to the kitchen, she passed by the East Courtyard and saw that Madam Bao was grabbing the wife of Yang Dutou and ridiculing her, saying that she didn't prepare a banquet and was just arguing with him."
After Jinniang arrived, Madam Qi prepared a banquet first. Later, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Madam Tian, Madam Bao, and Jinniang each invited a banquet. Later, the two wives of the bailiff were also invited, and even Madam Zhao, who was also the wife of the head of the police, was invited. However, Madam Yang never moved.
Maybe because Jinniang and her family lived right next to the clerk's residence, they knew something about it. The reason why Captain Yang's wife didn't return to the banquet was not because the Yang family was short of money, but because Captain Yang's wife was not favored. Captain Yang already had a mistress, and she and her two children had enough food and clothing, but nothing more.
How can I afford a fine banquet when I only wear the same jacket over and over again?
"It's a bit too late." Jinniang shook her head.
Ah Ying smiled and said, "That's right, Madam Bao is only slightly better than Madam Yang."
Because Aying has been in charge of welcoming and seeing off guests at Jinniang's place for many years, she can almost judge the family background of each family through their interactions. For example, among the four officials in the county government, Madam Tian should be the richest, and her dowry is also very generous. The next thing was his wife, two shops in Bian Jing, two farms, and several thousand strings of cash, not to mention six boxes of gold and silver jewelry, clothes, fabrics, tea, and spices.
The second is Madam Qi. I heard that Madam Qi’s family is not very wealthy and she is a poor official, otherwise she would not have married a merchant.
Mrs. Bao came from the poorest family, but she laughed at others.
"Stop talking nonsense. Take out your winter clothes and wash them first. There will be no sun in winter." Jinniang said.
There are three things in the world that cannot be hidden: poverty, cough and love.
Poverty is the first thing to be affected, so if you don’t prepare clothes for winter, you will easily catch a cold, and then you will suffer if you catch a cold.
Ah Ying had no shortage of clothes. She used to have a good relationship with the nun Jing'an. Jinniang knew that she had a lot of guests, so she would specially reserve some high-quality fabrics for her. Although her monthly salary was not as much as that of the embroiderers, she had tips, and she loved to be coquettish, so she also had a box of winter coats.
She even gave Qingrong something she didn't like as a favor.
Jinniang worked for a long time and practiced for a while before she could embroider Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures in front of the embroidery frame. When she was an embroiderer, she learned other things such as mending kesi silk, but embroidering Buddha statues was always a gap that she could not overcome, so she always felt like it was a thorn in her side.
Now that she had time to do this, she embroidered a picture of Guanyin in white sitting on a lotus pedestal under the window.
She first embroidered the face with traditional flat stitch, which is now the mainstream method, but the portrait is still the main focus. The painting of Guanyin sitting on a lotus pedestal that Jinniang received was given to her by the abbot of Zijin Temple, who said it was painted by a famous artist. Wu County is also known as Gusu. The last time Jinniang went out with Jiang Xian, she visited some embroidery shops and gained something.
It is said that during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, she ordered the embroidery of more than 400 Buddhist scriptures to be presented to temples and neighboring countries.
After embroidering for only an hour and a half, she heard someone outside say that Madam Qi wanted to ask her to come over, so Jinniang hurriedly changed her clothes and went over.
It turned out that the wife of the prefect of this prefecture had come to visit.
The position of Tongpan was above that of the county magistrate. Madam Qi had already invited the wife of Tongpan to take the seat, and she was sitting with her. However, everyone knew that although Madam Qi was born into an official family and was quite arrogant and scheming, she was not good at speaking, so they asked Madam Tian and Madam Jin to help liven up the atmosphere.
When Jinniang entered the house, she first greeted them, and then heard Madam Qi introduce her: "This is the wife of the newly appointed county lieutenant Jiang."
The magistrate saw Jinniang performing the ceremony properly and asked more about her background. Jinniang smiled and said, "My brother and I both passed the imperial examination in the same year."
With two Jinshi in one family, and Jiang Xian still so young, the magistrate's wife dared not underestimate him. During the conversation, she saw Jinniang wearing an apricot-yellow bodice with a dark blue jacket on the outside, and her hair was in a bun with a thin golden bridge hairpin inserted in the middle of the bun, a pine cone hairpin on the top of her head, and two golden hairpins on each side. She looked very dignified and noble.
So, the wife of the magistrate talked more with Jinniang.
Everyone was just chatting about daily life. When a Shangguan lady like the Tongpan's wife came to have tea, Madam Qi, Madam Tian and Madam Jin naturally all had gifts to present.
What Jinniang presented was a piece of Langzhou lotus silk and a plum blossom vase from Ding kiln.
After the Tongpan lady left, Jinniang went home and told Jiang Xian. Jiang Xian was well-informed. He said to Jinniang, "The Tongpan lady will be returning to the capital in a few days to report on her duties. I'm afraid she won't be able to stay here."
"Do you mean that she comes here and makes a fortune in the end?" Jinniang said.
Jiang Xian smiled: "I'm afraid that's what he meant."
Jinniang smiled and said, "Fortunately, what I sent were only ordinary things. However, are you repairing the river recently? If you are short of money, sell all the tea, pepper and spices in my box."
Officials’ salaries were only paid once every six months or a year, so Jiang Xian would have to wait until next year to receive his salary, so naturally he didn’t have much time to spend on the money.
Now Jinniang is determined not to use the four thousand strings of cash in her hand, and only uses what she can use first.
Jiang Xian also agreed and asked Liu Douer to sell it at night, earning a total of three hundred taels. He won't use the money immediately, he will definitely spend it when the time is right.
On the day of the winter solstice, the female coroner was the first to come. She brought two boxes of flowers, one box of camellias and one box of plum blossoms, both for her to wear, and half a basket of clams.
Jinniang smiled and said, "How can I take your things?"
The female coroner scratched her head in embarrassment: "Although I am a poor coroner, I often work as a doctor to help people with their illnesses, so my consultation fee is generous."
"So that's how it is. I don't look down on you. We can be said to have known each other for a long time." Jinniang said with a smile.
The female coroner's original surname was Jiang. She was the sixth child in the family. She hated evil and loved solving cases. She was not angry about the marriage proposal being cancelled because of this, as she could now stay in the yamen with greater openness.
She was very happy to see Jinniang being so kind and without any grudge against her.
Jinniang gave her ten pairs of birch candles and said, "You are coroners and sometimes have to perform autopsies at night. Lamp oil is too dim, so it's better to use this."
Sister Jiang Liu left very happily.
As for the flowers she brought to wear on her head, Jinniang distributed some to the servants in the mansion, giving each of them two flowers to wear. In addition to Jiang Liujie, the county master's wife, the chief clerk's wife, and Bao's wife also sent people over, and everyone gave gifts to each other.
She accepted some of the cloth and raw silk, and asked Qingrong to take the fruits so that she could take them out and eat them when someone came.
Of course, no matter how much you receive, you have to give it away.
This was just an ordinary social interaction, just some food and drinks. Jinniang would not accept any valuable items given by wealthy and powerful families such as the Gu family and the Tao family.
However, the two girls of the Gu family were very likable, smart, quiet, and well-mannered. Jinniang praised them, saying, "Only a place with such beautiful natural beauty can produce such beautiful people."
The Gu family did send two wedding invitations. Mr. Gu was not in good health, and his only wish was to see his two daughters get married. However, the Gu family did not plan to choose an adopted son. Instead, they wanted the second daughter to marry off and the eldest daughter to marry a son-in-law.
If a son-in-law is married into the family, the eldest daughter will manage the family business in the future.
Naturally, the Gu family also invited Jinniang to be the wife of the emperor. Fang's mother urged Jinniang to accept the job: "Do you know why the Sixth House originally only had a three-story house, and how the garden was built later? It was our Sixth Lady who earned money by being the wife of the emperor."
"Really?" Jinniang asked.
Mother Fang said with a smile, "You see, officials cannot accept bribes, but our Sixteenth Brother, who writes well, gets paid a fee. This is fair and square, and no one will say anything. Madam, you are self-sacrificing and dedicated to the public, and you are a good helper. You are not greedy, but with your status, ordinary matchmakers and wives all take these, so it is fair and square for you to take this."
Only then did Jinniang agree.
The Quanfuren is different from the matchmaker. The matchmaker shuttles between men and women to deliver festival gifts and wedding ceremonies, while the Quanfuren in the Song Dynasty is someone who, after the woman's family receives the betrothal gift, opens the gift box from the man's family with a towel and places it in the main hall, and prepares incense, candles, wine and fruits, and prays to the heaven, earth and ancestors.
The Gu family lives in the south of the city. The house is exquisitely decorated, with mountains and water complementing each other, quiet paths and bridges, and falling leaves. There is even a thatched cottage to the west. Monkeys and cranes are calling in the yard in front of the rockery, as if you are in a landscape painting.
Jinniang couldn't help but admire: "I have seen many gardens, but this one is the most exquisite."
She had seen the Zhou family's garden, the garden at Liu Jixiang's home, and even Jiang Xian's home. They were beautiful, but had a sense of craftsmanship. This place, on the other hand, was naturally unadorned.
The old woman who led the way said, "My master is from the Fang family who built the garden. He passed on all his skills to my eldest daughter, who is best at landscape design."
"Then I'd like to ask for more advice." Jinniang knew that although her house in Tianshui Lane was very new and had been built with ingenuity, it would not be able to accommodate more people in the future and she would have to buy a new house.
In the Song Dynasty, there was no prohibition on the imperial examination for a son-in-law who married into the family. Moreover, the eldest daughter of the Gu family was beautiful and capable, and had a large family, so naturally those men flocked to her. Despite his sick body, Mr. Gu chose the second son of the magistrate of Changshu County for his eldest daughter. Jinniang saw the fair and handsome groom outside the yard, with an air of bookishness and reportedly a student of the Imperial Academy, and nodded slightly.
I didn't expect that for the sake of property, the son of a county magistrate would be willing to marry into a wife's family.
This gave Jinniang a deeper understanding of the marriage custom of the Song Dynasty, "marrying a wife regardless of her family background, and just seeking wealth." Wasn't it because she had a lot of dowry that she was able to marry Jiang Xian?
The groom was also an official, so he received quite a lot of gifts. When Jinniang lifted the cloth, she saw eight bottles of wine in golden vases, decorated with large flowered silver square cups, and covered the wine with red and green gilded wine covers, and then covered with silk with flowers, and the wine basket was decorated with red ribbons. Not to mention pearls, jade, jewelry, gold articles, gilt skirt pleats, and satin tea cakes.
Jinniang also received compensation from Madam Quanfu, including two hundred taels of official silver, a load of tea cakes, eight rolls of fashionable satin, two boxes of spices, and two ginseng roots of ten each from the Hedong Luzhou Prefecture.
…
After Jinniang left, Old Lady Gu said to Miss Gu, "Your mother is still stingy. This is too little."
Miss Gu was reluctant to say anything bad about her mother, so she just said, "Grandmother, I don't know why you favor this wife of County Magistrate Jiang? She didn't want anything we sent her before, which shows that she doesn't take us seriously."
"Nonsense, this is because the wife of the official family cherishes her reputation. As the saying goes, marrying an unvirtuous wife will ruin three generations, while marrying a virtuous wife will bring prosperity to three generations. Only when people have determination can they go further. Besides, both brothers of County Lieutenant Jiang are Jinshi. I have also inquired about it. The wife of the county lieutenant is also from a merchant family. Our shopkeeper in Bianjing once said that she was not only a female official in the Wenxiuyuan, but also the head of the Bianjing Embroidery Shop. She is not an ordinary woman. You have to know that County Lieutenant Jiang was a Jinshi at a young age, and he was able to operate in a place like our Wu County. He should not be underestimated. Others often say that they would rather spend ten years in other places than one year here. How many officials are reluctant to leave their posts after they come. Besides, the wife of the county lieutenant is good at managing the household. She is the only one in the house, and she doesn't even have concubines. She is a woman with means. If County Lieutenant Jiang has another forty years of official career, if you are on good terms with the wife of the county lieutenant, she can protect you for forty years." Old Madam Gu said slowly.
Miss Gu finally understood her grandmother's painstaking efforts and bowed down with tears in her eyes: "Grandma has worked so hard for me, and I really can't repay you in any way."
Madam Gu said with a smile: "Hurry up and get up. Everyone laughs at our family being a female army. A female army is a female army. We women are as brave as men."
Miss Gu thought that most of the wealthy businessmen in the city had taken refuge with Magistrate Hou, and it was said that behind him was the Prime Minister Jixian. There were also those who climbed up to the position of military commander or Tongpan of Pingjiang Army. Her grandmother valued Magistrate Jiang, and it was actually through his wife that she made the judgment.
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