This time, Yun Manyan did not move into the new Yun Mansion with her mother. Instead, she used the twenty taels of silver subsidized by the government to rent a small courtyard next to the Yun Mansion and moved in with her sister-in-law.
Originally, Zhou had agreed with Zhao Huai that after the wedding, Zhao Huai's younger sister, Zhao Chan, could also move into the newly built courtyard. However, Zhao Chan had heard rumors in the village and was afraid that if she moved into the new house, it would confirm the rumors that her brother had "married into the family," so she refused to move and continued to live in her dilapidated house.
After learning about this, Yun Manwan visited Zhao Chan several times to try and persuade her, but Zhao Chan refused. Later, the entire Yun family moved to the county town. Considering Zhao Chan's stubbornness, Yun Manwan discussed it with Zhao Huai and they finally decided to rent a small courtyard. Only then did Zhao Chan agree to live with her brother and sister-in-law.
Zhao Huai felt much more at ease. He quickly found a job as a bodyguard in the county town and went on a mission the next day.
Today is the housewarming celebration of the Yun family, and Yun Manwan is naturally coming. Upon hearing that her aunt and younger cousin were about to set off for the capital, she quickly went back to her own courtyard to pack a bundle and came over.
The bundle contained several pieces of clothing.
Yun Manyan said, "This is a set of clothes and a few handkerchiefs that I made for my aunt and my little cousin. I originally planned to make two pairs of shoes and send them over together. But since you suddenly said you were leaving, I brought them over first."
Mrs. Su thanked her repeatedly, saying, "You've worked hard."
Yun Manyan smiled gently, "Auntie, there's no need for thanks. Our whole family should be thanking you."
Madam Yun's eyes reddened slightly. "It's true, things have only just started to settle down, and you..."
Xiao Youran had just received her waist token from her senior brother and was showing it off to her great-aunt and mother. Upon hearing this, she waved the golden waist token again and said, "Great-aunt, the Yun family will be returning to the capital soon. My mother and I will go back first to lead the way for you."
Madam Yun tapped her forehead, "You little rascal! You have such a sweet tongue!"
They said the Yun family was going back to the capital, but they were just saying nice things that she wanted to hear!
Madam Su sensed that her daughter's insistence on returning to the capital meant that something was about to happen.
The housewarming banquet also invited the clan chief, his wife, several villagers familiar with Dashan, and Mrs. Sun, among others.
When these people arrived and heard that the Su mother and daughter were returning to the capital, they all expressed their reluctance to see them go.
Especially Shi Tou and Si Wa, who had fully recovered, kept clamoring to go out with Xiao Youran to earn money again.
Soon the banquet began, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely.
The clan chief's wife also brought news during the banquet: that troublesome Aunt Hua had passed away a few days after suffering a rabies attack, and her two mentally challenged sons had been taken back and cared for by her maternal uncle.
There was one thing that Old Madam Yun kept on her mind and was deeply worried about.
While Madam Sun was present, she inquired, "Are there any good academies or clan schools in this county town? My good-for-nothing grandsons used to study at the clan school in the village. Now they've all gone their separate ways, and the clan school is gone too. We must find another place for them in the county town?"
The Yun family school was built decades ago with funds raised by the old Marquis Yun. However, over the decades, the Yun family has mostly been farmers, and few have become scholars. They have produced a student every few years, but none of them have achieved much.
The clan chief bluntly stated that the Yun family members were not suited for studying, and coupled with their already difficult lives, the clan school was becoming increasingly desolate. In total, there were only three or four students, both young and old, and the teacher was a scholar from the Yun family who had passed the imperial examinations more than ten years ago.
Madam Sun hurriedly said, "Then Songshan Academy is the only option. Please, whatever you do, don't mention any more aristocratic family schools!"
"Why is that?" Zhou asked hurriedly.
"The largest aristocratic family in Wufeng County was the Feng family. The Feng family school was also famous far and wide. It's a pity that this time, the Feng family produced a matriarch who was paraded through the streets. The entire school was in an uproar. Everyone thought that this matriarch had tarnished the reputation of the Feng family students and made the Feng family school lose face."
The gossip immediately piqued the curiosity of all the women in the household. Madam Sun also quickly shared the fate of her sixth aunt, Yun, who had been paraded through the streets in public.
"After being paraded through the streets for three days, Yun Liu Mei returned home and fell seriously ill. Magistrate Feng, perhaps instigated by one of his concubines, first demoted her from wife to concubine. Later, because the students of the clan school protested and demanded she be expelled from the Feng family, he actually issued a divorce decree, sending her back to the Yun family! She has truly lost all face." Madam Sun looked at the clan head's wife with interest and asked, "The clan head's wife should know about this matter. Does she still have any close relatives in her own family?"
The clan chief's wife looked grim. "Her parents have long since passed away. The fifth son is her own brother. Didn't we take him back to his house a few days ago? But the fifth son's wife is a shrew and a hard-hearted woman. She insisted on leaving her bed board in front of the door for three days and three nights, not letting her in or giving her a drop of water."
She sighed helplessly, "It was my daughter-in-law who couldn't bear to see it and was afraid someone would die, so she had someone carry him back to our yard and feed him some porridge and water."
Madam Yun praised, "You are all so kind-hearted."
The clan chief's wife was even more helpless. "But after she regained consciousness, she started hurling insults at us. She did this for three days straight, and my daughter-in-law couldn't take it anymore. She carried her to an empty room next door. Unexpectedly, her daughter, Feng Qing'er, was also brought over. Her daughter was fine, so we thought it would be good to take good care of Yun Liu Mei. We took her to the empty room next door. Who would have thought that Feng Qing'er was also a shrew? We provided them with three meals a day, and she still cursed them all day long. It was one thing for her to curse heaven and earth, but she also cursed us, the ones who had been working so hard, making it impossible for us to have any peace. My daughter-in-law was filled with regret, so we discussed giving them some money so they could find another place to stay. But Feng Qing'er was outrageous and demanded two hundred taels of silver from us."
The clan chief's wife patted her chest to catch her breath before saying, "Two hundred taels it is. We're thinking of getting rid of these two plagues as soon as possible. They finally left a few days ago, but we don't know where they went."
Just then, two ragged beggar women came to the door, supporting each other. They spat several times, and the older one cursed, "What Yun family! Sooner or later they'll be raided!"
Another younger one also cursed, "Mother, when they are stripped of their property and beheaded, Father will definitely bring us back to the mansion safely."
It was Yun Liu Mei and her daughter Feng Qing'er. A few days ago, the two of them had brought two hundred taels of silver to return to the Feng family, but they were robbed by refugees before they even entered the county town. They begged their way to the Feng family's door, but were chased out by the Feng family's gatekeeper with a broom.
These past two days, they've been begging on the streets, comforting each other, and still dreaming that once the Yun family and their backers fall, the mother and daughter can return to the Feng family in glory.
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