The old lady of the Pingxi Marquis's mansion, along with several old stewards left behind by the second branch of the family, retrieved some items that had been sealed away for the second branch years ago. Some of these items were earned by Zheng Rong, the second son of the Zheng family, on his own; some were assets left by the old Marquis of the mansion to Zheng Rong's posthumous son; and some were the dowry left by Zheng Rong's wife. Zheng Rong's wife's family were wealthy merchants in the south, and they gave a large dowry when they got married. Later, the family suffered a great misfortune, and because the Pingxi Marquis's mansion did not say anything, Zheng Rong's wife's family did not take back the dowry. They only said that the Zheng family would be in charge of adopting a son for Zheng Rong, and the dowry would be managed by the adopted son.
The second branch's storeroom had been deserted for years, and many things were in a state of disrepair. When Zheng Boyuan was first adopted, he was in a hurry to take his sister to Hexi, so he only opened a small storeroom. This storeroom for large items had never been opened. The old lady of Pingxi Marquis took the list left by the Zheng family and Zheng Rong's in-laws and checked everything one by one. After checking everything, she packed up the items that were still usable, just like the Xu family, and sealed them on the cart, preparing to send them to Hexi with the Xu family's convoy.
The backyard was only so big, and the old lady of the Marquis of Pingxi hadn't secretly taken stock of the things. It wasn't until now that Xiao Chenshi realized how wealthy the second branch of the Zheng family was. Not to mention the gold and silver, even the furniture, although somewhat dilapidated, was made of the finest wood with exquisite carvings. As for the jade ornaments, the servants said that just one jade carving of the Five Blessings Surrounding Longevity was worth several thousand taels of silver.
Madam Chen was seething with hatred. She said to her trusted nanny, "I really didn't know that the childless one would leave behind so many things. If I had known, I wouldn't have let that little rascal have them."
The trusted nanny knew perfectly well what kind of mentality her mistress was. From a young age, Madam Chen had always been resentful of her birth, believing herself to be far superior to her elder sister in both looks and talent. It was only because her elder sister was born of the principal wife and because of the favoritism shown by their stepmother that her sister was better than her in every way. It was also because of this that she had schemed to seduce her brother-in-law. This was a huge scandal, and both the Zheng family and their Chen family tried their best to suppress it. They knew that if the matter were to become known, the many daughters of the Chen family would have no chance of marriage and would have to spend their remaining years in a nunnery.
This trusted nanny was well aware of all the troubles that Xiao Chen had gone through. She also understood her mistress's thoughts very well. She was a ruthless and greedy person who wanted to get her hands on all the good things. If others were doing better than her, she wouldn't dare to say it to their face, but she would always make sarcastic remarks behind their backs.
The old woman said, "Madam, this is all a matter decided by the elders in the family. Although the eldest son took the eldest daughter with him and inherited this vast fortune, he doesn't have the support of the elders there. How can he be like our son, who has the pity and help of the elders? After our son inherits the title, your good days are yet to come, Madam."
Hearing this, Madam Chen was pleased, but still maintained a certain reserve on her face. She smiled and said, "That depends on our son learning his skills well so that he can inherit the title in the future."
The trusted nanny said, "When I came over just now, I heard from the servants in the study in the front courtyard that our Marquis and the old lady were talking in private that night. It seems that he went out during the day to see the Marquis of Yongning. I don't know what they talked about. When our Marquis came back, he locked himself in his study for an afternoon. In the evening, he went to the old lady's courtyard for dinner. After dinner, he chased the servants out of the room."
Madam Chen frowned and said, "Go and arrange for someone to inquire about what's been going on at the Yongning Marquis's residence lately."
The trusted nanny said with some difficulty, "If it were another mansion, I could ask around, but the Yongning Marquis's mansion has very strict rules. The servants in the mansion never dare to speak ill of their masters outside."
Madam Chen got up, took out a fifty-tael silver note from her dressing case, unfolded it, looked at it, gritted her teeth, and said, "Take this and use it wisely to see what you can find out. Although I don't understand men's affairs, I do know that the Yongning Marquis's mansion is very different from other marquis's mansions. Although the sons of the mansion are not high-ranking officials, they are capable families. If my brother really marries a girl from the Yongning Marquis's mansion, the amount of help he can get is beyond our imagination."
The trusted nanny took the silver note, bowed, and walked out.
The trusted nanny's surname was Li. She married the head steward of Xiao Chen's household. The head steward managed Xiao Chen's land and shops, and the family made a lot of money from Xiao Chen's property.
When Granny Li returned to her small, three-courtyard house in the back alley of the Marquis's mansion, her husband was drinking at home. On the kang table were a wine pot, a plate of fried peanuts, and a plate of salted fennel beans.
Granny Li took off her shoes, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), sat opposite her husband, poured herself a cup of wine, drank it down in one gulp, picked up two fennel beans and ate them, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Her husband seemed like a fairly honest man. Seeing his wife come back at this hour, he asked her, "Why are you back at this time?"
Granny Li said, "Madam asked me to inquire about some things. I'd like to ask you, do you know anyone in the Yongning Marquis's residence when you're out and about?"
Li Mama's husband shook his head and said, "The rules of the Yongning Marquis's mansion are different from other families. How could I possibly know anyone in their household?"
Granny Li took out the silver note and said, "Madam asked me to take this to make some arrangements, as she wants to inquire about some things from the Yongning Marquis's residence."
Li Mama's husband shook his head and said, "This is not a good matter."
Granny Li said, "Do you know why our eldest son is in such a hurry to marry Miss Xu? In all my years in this household, I have never heard of our eldest son's marriage to Miss Xu. This marriage came out so suddenly and proceeded so quickly. There must be some hidden story behind it. It really doesn't make sense."
Li Mama's husband picked up the wine cup and took another sip, saying, "You should also advise our lady not to think too much, just live in the present. Always thinking about getting everything, how easy is that? Since the Marquis of Pingxi and the old lady have said so, whether it's true or not, that's how it is. We'll just do what the two masters do. Why think so much?"
Granny Li remained silent, but wasn't she thinking the same thing?
Li Mama's husband said, "Our lady, though she's called the Marquis's wife, who's in charge of this mansion? Isn't it still the Marquis? Don't be fooled by her domineering attitude; she has no real power. Her maternal family isn't her own. If she really angers the Marquis, he'll just write her a letter of divorce without a second thought. You'll see if the Chen family will stand up for her. No one will!"
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