Chapter 317: Concubine
Xie Wei sat aside, her eyes sparkling, looking at Jiang Yuzhu with admiration and said, "Third sister-in-law, you are amazing!"
Xie Zhao was a man of letters, and even though he was famous for his talent, he always considered himself a scholar. But Jiang Yuzhu was different, she was dignified and never suffered any injustice.
In the clan, Xie Wei was taught to be tolerant since she was young. Her mother, Sun, said that after getting married, she should serve her husband and parents-in-law wholeheartedly and be a filial and obedient daughter-in-law.
As for being wronged, you can only endure it. This is how all women go through it.
Xie Wei saw Jiang Yuzhu's recklessness that she dared not even imagine, and could not help but get closer to Jiang Yuzhu: "Third sister-in-law, do you really not care what others say?"
"I care. If I didn't care, why would I think of collecting protection money?"
In most cases, Jiang Yuzhu chooses to ignore it, but it also depends on the situation. She has done good things but is not understood, so why should she swallow her anger?
Supporting tens of thousands of people and feeding them cost a lot of money.
What's more, Jiang Yuzhu also paid salaries to his brothers, so they were not working for nothing.
According to her usual style of getting something for nothing, she would definitely not save the money on herself. There are so many wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan, why should she pay out of her own pocket and still get scolded?
"They are all ungrateful people anyway, let me get some money first."
Jiang Yuzhu and Xie Wei inquired and found out that these wealthy families were even richer than she thought. They were so wealthy that a hairpin for their women would usually cost hundreds of taels of silver. They decided to ask for more.
"Every quarter the tribe would buy new clothes, jewelry, and other small items for the tribe members."
Xie Wei was about to get married, and she followed her mother, Sun, to learn how to manage accounts and gain a general understanding of the clan's expenses.
The clothes and jewelry of the women look expensive, but the ones who actually spend the most money are the scholars in the clan.
"An ancient book costs more than a thousand taels, and an ordinary one costs a hundred taels."
Xie Wei has a younger brother who is studying in the clan. The pens, ink, paper and inkstone he bought are of the best quality, and he uses all the money he gets from the monthly salary given by the clan.
Jiang Yuzhu took a sip of tea with relish. Even she, who didn't know much about tea, could taste the fragrance of the tea.
Xie Wei glanced at the teapot and said enviously, "What Third Sister-in-law drinks is the top-quality golden buds, which come from the eighteen tea trees in front of Hu Gong Temple and are named imperial tea."
Such good stuff is not produced in large quantities.
Xie Wei leaned over and whispered, "I heard that the top-quality golden sprouts sent to the palace every year are secretly replaced."
In other words, even the emperor doesn’t have this blessing.
There are many elegant people in Jiangnan who love tea as if it were their life, and they would risk their lives to secretly replace it.
However, because the difference is not big, it has not been discovered for many years.
The eighteen tea trees in front of the Hu Gong Temple were sought after by local merchants and were sold at sky-high prices.
"This pot of tea costs at least a hundred taels of silver, and Dad and Second Uncle can only drink it during festivals."
The tea fragrance was everywhere and the tea soup was clear; Xie Wei could tell right away.
Jiang Yuzhu twitched her eyes and asked, "So scarce?"
Is she drinking tea? She is drinking gold!
In order to entertain Jiang Yuzhu, the Xie family took out all their treasures.
"Sister Wei'er, try it!"
Jiang Yuzhu smiled when she saw that the tea in Xie Wei's cup had not been touched.
Xie Wei blushed, curled up her fingers hanging at her side, and after struggling for a while, she mustered up the courage to say, "Third sister-in-law, can I take this cup of tea back to the room?"
Xie Wei wanted to give some of this top-quality tea to the maids who had served her for more than ten years, so that each of them could have a small sip.
Although her mother, Mrs. Sun, always said that maids were servants and would be slaves all their lives, Xie Wei disagreed. After living together for more than ten years, they were really no different from real sisters.
Although she was surprised by Xie Wei's request, Jiang Yuzhu still said readily, "Sure."
When Xie Wei returned to her room, Jiang Yuzhu immediately called over a few maids. Hongli said with an intoxicated look, "Is that what I drank tea? It was the holy water from the jade bottle of Guanyin Bodhisattva!"
"The wine I drink is more authentic than your Majesty's!"
With only the master and his servants present, Hong Jin also became very unruly, and several maids were laughing and making a scene.
Everyone left, except Hong Xiu who stayed and said, "Doctor Yan doesn't know the truth yet and is about to go back to the mansion to steal the book. Do you want me to wait a while before you take a look?"
"No need to wait."
On the day she entered the city, Jiang Yuzhu contacted Han Zhen immediately.
She didn't trust Zhou Pingjiang and the Huo family very much, so she sent Han Zhen to investigate the Yan family.
"Han Zhen led his men straight to the Yan residence, but the Yan family had already been deserted."
There was also a drawback to Jiang Yuzhu sending Shouzhugan back to deliver the letter. The news reached Yan Song's ears, and he fled after getting wind of it.
It is impossible to have the best of both worlds, so we will follow the clues that Yan Song did not have time to finish to find the whereabouts of Shenxiansan.
"Hong Xiu, you are responsible for keeping an eye on Yan Lin. His personality makes it easy for the Yan family to take advantage of him."
One must always be on guard against others, Jiang Yuzhu asked Hongxiu to keep an eye on the child and report any disturbance in time, so that the master and servant could discuss countermeasures at that time.
"Madam, several young ladies from the Shen family are here."
At the door, the little girl Ningdong opened the curtain.
The Xie family is indeed a century-old prestigious family. The family garden is comparable to a flower garden, and there is running water created by craftsmen using mechanisms.
The weather is hot, so there is an ice basin in the room to keep you cool and refreshed.
Before Ningdong had finished visiting Xie's house, several groups of people had already arrived from Jiang Yuzhu's side.
Just after noon, another relative came to visit.
"Ma'am, would you please come in?"
Ningdong had learned cooking from her mother before, and when she first started serving Jiang Yuzhu, she was unsure.
"Shen's?"
Jiang Yuzhu said with interest, "Please come in."
The Shen family is the Shen family's maternal family and is also one of the prominent families in Jiangnan.
Since it’s my mother-in-law’s family, I have to meet her.
The elders were too embarrassed to lower themselves and sent their peers over first.
About half a quarter of an hour later, voices were heard at the door.
As the door curtain was lifted, the first person to come out was a girl who was no more than 20 years old. She had a woman's hairstyle and wore a light-colored dress. She was like a delicate dodder flower. If a man with a protective desire saw her, he would definitely feel pity for her.
"Cousin, my younger sister Tinglan."
Shen Tinglan saluted and called the sisters behind her to introduce them one by one.
Recently, she happened to be staying at her parents' home for a short time, and thus happened to meet Jiang Yuzhu who came to Jiangnan to give birth.
"I've heard about my cousin's wife's beauty before, and now that I see her today, she really is like a fairy."
Shen Tinglan was gentle and weak, spoke very nicely, and was very kind to the sisters behind her.
If Jiang Yuzhu hadn't learned about this concubine's daughter from Shen Zhilan, she might have really been deceived.
Shen Tinglan is Shen Zhilan's half-sister. If Jiang Yuzhu guessed correctly, Shen Zhilan was badly cheated by Shen Tinglan in her previous life.
"Sister Tinglan doesn't look well."
Jiang Yuzhu picked up the teacup and took a sip, waiting quietly for Shen Tinglan to perform.
Speaking of the body, Shen Tinglan paused, and then a trace of sadness appeared in his eyes and said: "It was actually okay in the early years..."
"Cousin, the fourth sister fell into the river because she wanted to save the third sister!"
Shen Rulan, the seventh daughter of the Shen family, stood up and complained, "Fourth sister lost her reputation because of this and had to marry down, but third sister was ungrateful and ran to the capital just to be a concubine to my cousin!"
Shen Rulan couldn't help it and told everything in one breath. She wanted to expose Shen Zhilan's true face!
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