Chapter 149 Chapter 149 Two Chapters Combined
The rain was pouring down, there were flashes of lightning and thunder, and the water dripping from the eaves seemed to never stop...
It's rare to have such heavy rain in autumn.
Ding'er came back from the corridor with his shoes and the hems of his clothes soaked. Jinniang asked the servants to take his clothes and changed them behind the screen before continuing her homework.
"Son, write quickly. Let's have dinner early after you finish. It's raining heavily today and your father is still in the government office. I don't know when he will be back." Jinniang was very worried.
As the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, Jiang Xian not only had to deal with the flooding caused by heavy rain, but also had to properly resettle the victims and report to his superiors. He was extremely busy. Originally he had a day off today, so he had to get up early.
The sky was getting dark due to the rain. Jinniang lit two candles for her son, while Dingger was doing his homework seriously.
She went to the inner room with Ah Ying again, and couldn't help saying, "I was happy that my son-in-law and Ning Ge'er were having the test together, but something like this happened. I don't know how my husband feels about it."
Under such circumstances, it is inevitable that everyone feels insecure.
Ah Ying said: "But Prime Minister Jixian also admired our Lord before."
"Parties unite to attack dissidents, things are either black or white, and correction must be done through extremes. Even if Prime Minister Jixian himself has no problem with the young master, there will be a group of people who will follow his lead." Although Jinniang is not a person in officialdom, the more she is a bystander, the more clearly she sees things.
Just like Jinniang is the mistress of the inner courtyard, Aying is her most capable assistant. If she doesn't like someone, Jinniang will not force Aying to accept her, and she will also consider Aying's face. After all, Aying is closer to her and more useful than others.
The same principle applies to Jixian Xiang. Although Jiang Xian is not a die-hard member of the Shen Party, when the Shen Party was in power, he tried his best to work for the Shen Party. Will Jixian Xiang's men tolerate him?
In his position, people will definitely replace him with their own people.
When Zheng married Mr. Jiang Liu, she also replaced all of Mr. Liu's people.
Ah Ying was also vaguely worried after hearing this, but Jin Niang remained calm: "It's okay. Over the years, our family has almost acquired enough assets. We don't have any major expenses, so it's enough for us."
If you can't be an official, it's also a good idea to cultivate your ambition. After all, Jiang Xian has been an official for many years. Ning'er has to rely on himself to study and take the imperial examinations, and Ding'er will inevitably have to catch up with his brother.
Thinking this way, she felt much more relaxed.
Ah Ying nodded slowly. After returning to Beijing these years, although the eldest daughter's marriage cost a lot of money, her wife also expanded the family business. The store was expanded, and an additional 100 acres of land was bought in Wu County and an additional 100 acres of land was bought in Bian Jing. A house with two courtyards and three widths near the Imperial College was also a great gain.
Moreover, he even grew bamboo, flowers, lotus leaves and lotus pods in his own garden, and used the pond to raise fish and shrimps, which brought him a lot of benefits.
In recent years, since the eldest daughter got married, my wife stopped making gold and silver jewelry, and she also sold some of the old items. She also often processed silk, cloth and tea from old years. The family is actually quite well-off.
After counting her assets, even Aying and Jiang Xian might not know how much cash Jinniang has now. Anyway, she has saved up a considerable amount.
Not counting the gold that was exchanged for 4,000 strings of cash, the total was almost 20,000 strings of cash.
Xu, on the other hand, told Jiang Yan all the hardships she had experienced over the years, how her brother-in-law and his wife had ignored her, and how her mother-in-law Zheng had suppressed her.
Jiang Yan held his shoulders and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my wife."
Mrs. Xu has become much plumper in recent years. She has been like this since she gave birth to Zheng Jie'er. The family even hired a nun who had returned to secular life to cook vegetarian meals, but even so, he kept getting fatter and fatter.
But she always lived a simple life and seldom made new clothes. Her old clothes were too tight around her body.
But Jiang Yan also saw the darkness on her face and the swelling of her eyelids, and knew that they were suffering.
Xu smiled and said, "With your words, how could I possibly suffer? All my hard work has not been in vain."
"Yes, I have benefited a lot from following him in compiling books over the years. Now is the time to set things right." Jiang Yan stood with his hands behind his back, like a sword about to be unsheathed, shining with a cold light.
Xu thought of Jiang Fang and kept silent, but she knew that her good days were coming.
She would definitely take revenge on those in the clan who helped Jiang Xian bully her.
Compared with the fate of the three Jiang brothers, Sun Shichen had already been dismissed. Originally, Sun Shichen still had a glimmer of hope, thinking that he was not a high-ranking official anyway, and no one should notice him.
Unexpectedly, he was also dismissed. Sun Shichen and Zhou Si's wife were in tears.
Mrs. Zhou Si had never encountered such a big thing before. Although she was usually very knowledgeable, when she encountered such a thing, she first went to Jiang Fang's house to find Mrs. Zhou San. Mrs. Zhou San was extremely calm. She was going to be demoted along with Jiang Fang, so she had to prepare her things. If she was demoted, she would not be able to live in the government office and would have to rent a house outside.
The four sons had to go with her. She had a lot of things to do. When she saw her fourth sister, she said, "Don't you still have a hometown? Go back there."
Mrs. Zhou Si felt that she was living well here, so why should she go back to her hometown? Ancient times were not like modern times, they would arrive in a moment. Traveling a lot makes it very easy to get sick...
Mrs. Zhou San had said all she wanted to say. She didn't know whether her husband would be reinstated or not, but she would follow him. When you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, you follow the dog. Her husband was full of talents, and she couldn't bear to do that.
While Mrs. Zhou was thinking about it, Jiang Xian came back. It was already early morning of the next day.
Jinniang asked the bathhouse to prepare hot soup for him to bathe. After he came out of the bath, she asked him to change into comfortable clothes and brought him hot porridge and a few side dishes.
"No matter how uncomfortable I feel, my wife takes care of everything for me, and I'm not afraid of anything." Jiang Xian drank the porridge, and he felt much more relaxed after being exhausted both physically and mentally.
Jinniang smiled and said, "At worst, I can just resign. I've thought about it. We didn't expect anything from our Ning'er, but now he has passed the provincial exam. This means he has a 50% chance of passing. In this way, you can stay at home and take care of the family, and your son can also maintain the family lineage."
Jiang Xian said, "My lady, it has not come to this. I am not Jiang Fang, who always goes to extremes. But the emperor still cares about our old friendship and only demoted him. He did not implicate many people. Even his brother-in-law Sun Shichen was only dismissed from office."
"Don't go to extremes in everything. People in the middle are easily excluded. But don't worry, I can definitely support you. Come closer." Jinniang waved to him.
Jiang Xian was still reluctant. When he heard Jinniang say the number, he opened his eyes wide and scratched his ears: "Didn't you say that the economy is not very prosperous recently? How come there is so much money?"
You know, it was a big event for the family, the daughter's marriage, and it cost a lot of money.
"I'm telling you anyway to let you know that we will have money coming in at the end of the year, so it doesn't matter whether you become an official or not. Anyway, our son is going to be successful too, so you should stay at home and teach Ding'er well." Jinniang said with a smile.
Jiang Xian shook his head and said, "Look at the Zhou family. Master Zhou just couldn't get back on his feet. Zhou Cunzhi is weak and alone. Now that Prime Minister Jixian has taken office, I'm afraid he will be able to come back."
"Who can think of him at this time?" Jinniang was puzzled.
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "As for me, I'm just doing you a favor."
"You are really good at being an official. However, your eldest brother has come back now, but he hasn't said a word for your second brother. When your second brother returned to Bian Jing, he asked him to find an official position." Jinniang said.
Jiang Xian pulled his lips and smiled: "You are joking. This is a different time. There are no treacherous ministers or virtuous people in the world. It's just a matter of going with the flow or against the flow."
The next day, the sky cleared up and Bianjing was as usual.
Madam Meng from next door came over. In recent years, Concubine Qiao gave birth to another daughter, who was named Wanrong. As the elder sister, Madam Meng was extremely happy. This time, the affairs of this party or that party did not affect her, so her mood was not affected at all.
"Mrs. Jiang, what's going on? I heard that your daughter gave birth these days."
Jinniang smiled and said, "Yes, it was just one month old, I just went there."
Wei Qillang was liberated, and Yun Jie gave birth to a son. Actually, Yun Jie and her sister-in-law Wang had the opposite relationship. Wang gave birth to a son and then a daughter.
Mrs. Meng smiled and said, "Congratulations."
"There's nothing to be happy about. I'm now worried about next year's provincial examination." Jinniang said.
The eldest son of the Meng family is very outstanding, the second son is not so good, and Sanlang Meng is also quite good at studying. Therefore, Mrs. Meng was not under much pressure. At least she had one son to suppress the illegitimate son. The second son would have no worries about not having an official position because of the royal family's favor, but the third son could not compare with that.
Madam Meng smiled and said, "Heroes have always emerged from youth. Your Dalang will surely become one."
As the two were talking, Miss Sun was worried about her natal family, but she was also glad that she had made a prompt decision and chose the Meng family. Then she saw Mrs. Jiang, who was still chatting and laughing, looking very energetic, as if the tense situation in the court had not affected her at all.
As they were talking, they heard that Sister Yun was coming. This time, the Jixian Prime Minister was able to take the position entirely because of the recommendation of Master Wei. Mr. Wei is now the Minister of the Secretariat. He originally thought that Prime Minister Shen was a good person, but later he saw that his various measures were overcorrecting and he felt that they were not good for the common people.
As the prime minister's daughter-in-law, Yun Jie'er was treated with great courtesy. Madam Meng stood there to please her and did not leave when she came in. She even came to talk to her just to say a word.
"Sister, you're back. Your mother was just praising you." Mrs. Meng said.
Yun Jie'er was not proud of her status, but instead acted politely as a junior: "My mother often said that she was not at home, and you often came to talk, and we got along very well. It happened that I brought some tea, you can bring some over to try, if it's good, I'll come next time."
Mrs. Meng was overjoyed when she received it, and she went out and said to her daughters-in-law, "The eldest daughter of the Jiang family is really good. She is not arrogant and speaks appropriately."
Miss Sun recalled what her third aunt said, that the emperor must still support the new policy. As long as he supports the new policy, the Shen party will still be employed. Isn't it possible that the Wei family will have a good ending in the future?
Just like when the Shen Party was at its most powerful, they never thought of this day.
However, Yun Jie'er didn't need her to worry at all. As soon as the people left, she sat next to her mother intimately.
"Don't bring Jiaojiao back either." Jinniang said with a smile.
Sister Yun said, "Jiaojiao is with my mother-in-law. My eldest sister-in-law's two nieces are taking care of her. That's why I feel relieved to come back."
Jinniang said, "When children are young, they like to be with their parents the most. If you want to take care of the children in the future, come back less often. If there is anything, just send someone to deliver the message."
"You seldom go to the Wei family, so I must come back to see you. When I gave birth to my brother, you stayed with me for several days." Yun Jie'er thought about how much her mother had given for her. Although she would complain occasionally, it was all for her own good.
"Now that you have both a son and a daughter, I feel relieved. But you should be more careful in the future. Having too many children will make a mother suffer, and having too many children is not a good thing." Jinniang still warned.
Of course, Yun Jie'er didn't come back to talk about these things. She was talking to Jin Niang about Ning Ge'er's marriage: "After Ning Ge'er passed the provincial examination this time, many people came to me to inquire about him. Among them was a family with the surname Zhu. Her family was originally from Luoyang. Although her birth was not outstanding, she had a very good personality. Mother, you can come over when you are free. I can introduce you to one or two."
This is of course her daughter's kindness, but Jinniang takes such matters very seriously. The Jiang family is no longer the small official family it used to be, and her son is also a talented and thoughtful person, so she has to be cautious in finding a daughter-in-law.
"There's no need for an introduction. We will meet if we are destined to. There are so many political parties now, so we'd better wait for a while. Besides, let's talk about it after your brother takes the provincial exam. We can't distract him now." Jinniang said with a smile.
In fact, she would get to know some people when she went out, but it would take a long time to find out.
Moreover, men and women are different. This is a practical problem, so Jinniang is not that worried. Otherwise, you'd find someone like Xu, who looks good on the surface but is actually just a shiny donkey dung egg.
Speaking of Xu, Jinniang laughed and said, "Your aunt even hired a nun to make fire and cook for her, but the more she ate, the fatter she got. Do you know why?"
Sister Yun opened her eyes wide: "Why?"
"Do you know what the secret to making those vegetarian dishes delicious is? It's to add more oil. All the dishes that are fried will look better in color. And the mushroom dumplings that she likes to eat are fried several times, so they are very delicious. The last time I went to her house to eat them, I felt like I had mastered the secret." Jinniang said with a smile.
Sister Yun laughed so hard that she fell backwards.
When I am with my mother, there doesn't seem to be any big worries and there are always many jokes. She wanted to ask about her father, but her mother didn't know either. She said, "Your father is more familiar with the officialdom than I am. I can only take care of the things that I can manage. If I can't manage them, don't think too much."
She had almost done everything that could be handled, and Jiang Xian had to handle his own affairs.
Sister Yun nodded: "That's right. By the way, mother, didn't you let Chunxian learn cooking from Sister Juxiang for many years? She is very good at making soups, and now she is in charge of soups in the big kitchen. Just like you said, moistening things silently, now the big kitchen can be considered as my person."
"That's it. In the future, you can eat and drink cheaply. By the way, the Shen Party is not doing well now. Is your eighth brother's wife affected?" Jinniang asked.
Sister Yun smiled and said, "The Wei family has also been through a lot. Who doesn't have setbacks in their career? She is not well-liked by Second Aunt at home now, but fortunately she is sensible and doesn't come out very often."
"Your second aunt is known as a Bodhisattva, so how come some people can't get along with her?" Jinniang was also puzzled.
The more someone cares about their reputation, the less likely they are to fall out with someone. It is easier to take advantage of her if you take advantage of her reputation.
Sister Yun spread her hands: "She is thinking too much. Qilang has tried it, and she asked me if I was satisfied? I don't know what she means."
Why do you still care about the possibility of marrying Wei Qilang...
Jinniang smiled and said, "Her behavior only shows that she is not having a good life. If it were me, the worse my life was, the less I would show it, which would only make me laugh."
"Yes, I heard some people spread gossip to me, saying that she felt my mother-in-law treated me very well, and that I was blessed, and that this blessing should have belonged to her." Sister Yun was very angry, but even if she said such words to Wei Qilang, it would only add to his troubles.
Just like my mom said, people still have to hold some things in. Talking about these things every day without caring about anything else is only creating trouble out of nothing.
Jinniang also advised her, "Now that your son-in-law has passed the test, you have a son and a daughter, and you two have a good relationship. In the past, your mother-in-law insinuated that you were intolerant, but now she treats you differently. All of this is your hard work. In my opinion, these people only see the results of others, but not their difficulties. Madam Wei is a hundred times smarter than the two of them. Even I can't bear to see you flattering and following the rules in front of her. If she is asked to do all this, can she endure it..."
"My daughter said the same thing. If Second Aunt didn't let her stand by the rules at the beginning, she wouldn't be very difficult to deal with. She had quarreled with Eighth Brother before, and Second Aunt stood on her side. But she went around saying that she was a smiling tiger? No matter whether she is smiling or not, she is helping you on the surface. She is not your own mother, who will stand by you?" Yun Jie'er thought about these things and could only talk to her mother.
Jinniang nodded: "You understand this matter clearly. The book says that brothers should be friendly and respectful to each other, but there are many cases where brothers fight for inheritance. There are also many people who say that mothers-in-law are kind and daughters-in-law are filial, but how many mothers-in-law in the world don't want to put on airs in front of their daughters-in-law? If someone else says a few nice words to you, you will treat her as your own mother. You still have to stand up for yourself."
The mother and daughter talked for a while, and finally Yun Jieer said before leaving: "Mother, if there is anything wrong with father, you must send a message to let me know."
Jinniang felt warm in her heart and nodded heavily.
After Jixian Xiang came back, he was appointed Shangshu Zuo Pushe and Menxia Shilang, which was the nominal position of prime minister. Jiang Yan's status also rose with the times, and he was promoted to Shangshu Zuocheng, a fourth-rank official. Xu no longer had any resentment in her heart, and she held a grand banquet for her guests.
Jinniang sat here for a while and then went home.
Just then, Ning Ge'er came back. Jin Niang asked with a smile, "Why are you back at this time?"
"You've been so busy that you forgot. Today is the Stove-Warming Festival. Also, the Imperial Academy has allowed those of us who have passed the examination to move out if our families are in Bian Jing to prepare for next year's provincial examination. My son also wants to come back." Ning Ge'er was forced to stay here, but he still wanted to live at home.
Jinniang smiled and said, "Okay, but don't go out before the provincial exam. Concentrate on studying at home."
Ning Ge'er agreed very well.
Afterwards, Jinniang sent someone to the Imperial College to bring back his luggage. Ning Ge'er also invited a classmate to stay at her home. Jinniang had just cleaned up a guest room and asked the servants to take good care of it.
Ning Ge'er studied with his classmates in the study in the east wing during the day, and went back to their rooms to study at night. Jinniang brought them incense and candles and did not stop them from studying hard.
Just take care of your daily life. Jinniang said to Juxiang, "In the morning, you must cook an egg or stew egg custard, a few side dishes, and cook pancakes, steamed buns, wontons, steamed buns, and noodles in turn. For lunch, bring beef, mutton, chicken legs, sea bass, and prawns. Don't cook anything too oily or meaty at night."
Ju Xiang smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely prepare the food for Dalangjun."
Jinniang smiled and nodded.
At lunch, Jinniang said to Jiang Xian, "Xuan'er passed the pre-examination this year. If he fails the provincial examination, will he continue to take the exam? Or will he get another favor? What do you think, big brother?"
Jiang Xian thought hard and said, "I don't think I've heard big brother mention it."
"No way, doesn't he have only this one son?" Jinniang also found it very strange.
Jiang Xian smiled and said, "We should still take the exam. What future can our sons have if they don't take the exam? However, even the son of Prime Minister Jixian, who passed the imperial examination at the age of 20, was only a minor official. The higher the official position, the more likely it is that unless the sons are very talented, it will bring disaster to the family if they are allowed to serve as officials."
Jinniang also agreed with this statement.
When Prime Minister Jixian came to power, he had to abolish some of Prime Minister Shen's decrees. These things were very troublesome to deal with, but Jiang Xian had no grudges at all and everything was restored within seven days.
At this time, Jiang Fang left Beijing, and Sun Shichen and his wife prepared to return to their hometown.
Miss Sun prepared a lot of gifts, including sixty strings of cash, and gave a piece of jewelry to her younger sister. She said to her younger sister, "Go back and take good care of your parents."
Miss Sun Er kept wiping her tears.
Thursday was a bit sad because the novel is written from Wu Luan’s perspective and it is almost finished here. Zhou Cunzhi was going to come back after hearing that it was Jiang Xian who pleaded for him, or it was to complete the novel. Everything that happened afterwards was not written in the book, so she didn't know about it.
…
Jiang Yan said to Xu: "I have repeatedly advised my second brother in letters, but he never listened to me and ended up like this."
"Back then, when your second brother was in power, you never brought up the issue of his adoption. Instead, you covered up for him in every possible way. Even when you were forced to resign, you didn't let him help you. Now, it's just the trend of the times." Xu said.
Jiang Yan was silent for a while.
Xu couldn't help but think of Jiang Xian. Compared to Jiang Fang, who was adopted out, not only did Jiang Xian and his wife embarrass her in the clan last time, they also had no respect for her at all. The couple didn't even take care of their elderly parents and gave everything to her.
But she couldn't say this in front of Jiang Yan, so she just said, "Your second brother is also stubborn and you can't blame anyone else, but what about Shiliu Lang?"
"Shiliulang, it would be great if he could join Prime Minister Jixian," Jiang Yan said.
Xu smiled and said, "I think Shiliu Lang is the mother of whoever feeds him. I, the eldest sister-in-law, also saw this very clearly in Beijing. When the Shen family was here, he would run to the Shen family all day long."
Jiang Yan scolded his wife, but his brows were still furrowed.
Although Jiang Xian completed his task as Jixian Xiang very well, he was still impeached by Jixian Xiang's followers for having ulterior motives. How he dealt with the Shen Party before, how he dealt with Jixian Xiang now.
Jixian Xiang said that Jiang Xian was not such a person. They used to communicate frequently, but even he himself was coerced, let alone Jiang Xian.
Therefore, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Jiang Xian was transferred from the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture to the transport commissioner of Jingxi Road, and he was going to Luoyang to take up the post that same day.
Although he was promoted, Jinniang was in a dilemma. Ning Ge'er was going to take the provincial examination next year and she couldn't leave. She was also a little worried about her husband going to Luoyang alone. Who should I choose between my husband and my son?
Just as she was thinking about it, she saw Jiang Xian coming in with her favorite osmanthus yogurt. Jinniang looked at him and said, "How do you have time to make this? This requires a lot of effort."
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