Chapter 4 Everything Has Its Own Arrangement
When Lin's mother and Dongmai heard that Shangguan Jin was going to hold a banquet at the Duke's mansion, they were immediately excited.
My first thought was to hold a funeral for the Duke who had been missing for three years.
Three years have passed without any news. Rumors are circulating that the Duke of Dingguo is dead. The Duke of Dingguo's mansion can't ignore this!
Lin's mother felt that Shangguan Jin's ability to think of this meant that she had come to terms with it and was ready to face the fact that the Duke was gone.
Dongmai thought the same thing as Lin's mother.
However, Dongmai thought about it a little more.
Sigh, it seems we'll have to follow the example of the novels and make a cenotaph. I wonder which set of clothes the young lady will put in the coffin.
"Miss, which company should we order the coffin from?"
"I reckon it's hard to find a good coffin these days. Why don't we try looking at the Shangguan family? The old lady and the madam both love you dearly, they'll definitely help you find a solution," Dongmai suggested.
Lin's mother was about to nod.
Indeed, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion did have a fine coffin in storage before, but the Duke of Dingguo gave it away. These days, it's not so easy to find a good coffin!
"Coffin? What coffin? Why would we go back to the Shangguan residence to look for a coffin?" Shangguan Jin was taken aback.
Lin's mother, winter wheat...
"No...didn't you say you were going to hold a funeral for the Duke?" Dongmai muttered softly.
Shangguan Jin...
"Hold a funeral? Why would you hold a funeral? I meant to host a banquet, but hosting a banquet doesn't necessarily mean holding a funeral!"
"Besides, the Duke has only disappeared. The one in the palace hasn't even said the Duke is gone yet, so why should I rush to help?" Shangguan Jin said seriously.
"So... what excuse do you plan to use to host a banquet for your guests?" Dongmai asked again.
Shangguan Jin thought for a moment.
"The old lady's birthday isn't even two months away!"
"Yes, there are still fifty-two days left. I've already prepared your birthday gift, including longevity noodles and longevity peaches," Dongmai said hurriedly.
Shangguan Jin nodded.
"Let's celebrate the old lady's birthday earlier! We can tell everyone that we consulted a master fortune teller and it would be better for the old lady to celebrate her birthday earlier this year."
As for the date...
"Let's set it for ten days from now!" Shangguan Jin said.
Lin's mother, winter wheat...
Well... it's one thing for the old lady's birthday to be celebrated early, but why is the schedule still so tight?
Ten days...
We haven't prepared many things, like ingredients, and the invitations also need to be written and sent on the spot. Will we have enough time?
"It's settled then. We'll celebrate the old lady's birthday in ten days."
As for the Duke's matter, let's talk about it later! Shangguan Jin made the decision quickly, not giving the two of them a chance to object.
Lin's mother and Dongmai were puzzled at first, but after thinking about it for a while, they seemed to understand what was going on.
Lin's mother thought that her wife's statement was the most correct choice.
The Duke has been missing for three years, and the rumors outside are getting more and more outrageous, but as long as the Duke's mansion does not announce a funeral, the Duke is just missing.
It's the border area! It's not unacceptable for someone to be missing for seven or eight years.
As long as there is no funeral, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion will remain the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, and the title will remain unchanged.
If a funeral is held, it means that the Duke of Dingguo's mansion has accepted that the Duke is gone.
At that time, it was uncertain whether the Duke of Dingguo's mansion would still be a Duke's mansion.
After all, the young masters are still young, and even if they were to inherit the title, their rank would be downgraded by one level according to custom.
Moreover, the young masters are all so young and have not yet accomplished anything.
Therefore, it would be best for the Duke's Mansion to deny everything at this time. In this way, even if the Duke disappeared, the Duke's Mansion would still be the same Duke's Mansion.
As for the future...
There's plenty of time. We can plan things out slowly when the little masters are all grown up.
Thinking of this, Lin's mother couldn't help but look at Shangguan Jin with admiration.
She was, after all, the eldest daughter raised by the old lady and her mother.
She thinks more and more far ahead than most people; she truly deserves to be the Duchess of the household.
As for Dongmai, she felt like she had figured it out.
The young lady meant that we shouldn't disturb the dead first; if we were to disturb anyone, we should disturb the living first.
There are so many living people in the Duke's mansion, all with names and surnames, who doesn't celebrate their birthday?
After we've finished digging out all the living people, then we can start digging out the dead.
Didn't you hear what Miss just said? We'll talk about the Duke's matter later.
“Miss, you’re right. Let’s celebrate the old lady’s birthday first, and we can talk about the Duke’s matter later.” Dongmai immediately agreed.
"Then you can make the arrangements for me. The main thing for the Duke's mansion right now is to celebrate the old lady's birthday, understand?"
Lin's mother, you and Dongmai, along with Chuntao and the others, are busy together.
"If you encounter any problems that are difficult to solve, just tell me, and we'll discuss them together," Shangguan Jin said.
Lin's mother and Dongmai both nodded in agreement.
The Duke's mansion has been quiet for a long time, and everyone is finally going to be busy again.
After watching Lin Mama and Dongmai leave, Shangguan Jin took a sip of the tea served by the maid and let out a long sigh.
Problems should be solved.
If you run out of money, just find a way to make more.
Currently, the most convenient way to get these funds back is to host a lavish banquet.
Shangguan Jin was already imagining the grand scene on the day of the old lady's birthday, when the Duke of Dingguo's mansion would be filled with congratulatory gifts.
However, before that, Shangguan Jin still had some minor matters to resolve.
For example, you could tell the old lady that her birthday celebration needs to be moved forward.
Thinking of this, Shangguan Jin glanced at the sun outside. The sun had already set, and the old lady should have finished her dinner by now!
So, Shangguan Jin took another sip of tea, and with the help of her maid, put on layer after layer of clothes and went to the old lady's room.
The old lady of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion was an honest and kind person.
After Shangguan Jin married into the family, this old lady never acted like a mother-in-law.
Setting rules is out of the question.
The old lady told her old sisters that the Shangguan family was the epitome of integrity, and their rules and regulations were definitely better than those of their peasant origins.
She sets rules for her daughter-in-law?
There's no way to make people laugh at us.
Therefore, as soon as Shangguan Jin entered the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, she took over the power of managing the household.
Even after the news of the Duke of Dingguo's disappearance arrived, the old lady only cried for a few days. After being comforted by Shangguan Jin, she quickly came to the conclusion that her eldest son had simply gone missing.
There was no definite news, but she was convinced that her eldest son was still alive.
The old lady's courtyard was in the best location in the Duke's mansion.
The courtyard was large, and there were quite a few people serving it.
Although the Duke's mansion has had a difficult few years, the original Shangguan Jin did not reduce the old lady's expenses.
As she steadily stepped into the old lady's courtyard, both the young maids and the old women responsible for cleaning and sweeping bowed respectfully to Shangguan Jin.
Shangguan Jin entered the main room, where the old lady was leaning against the chaise lounge.
Upon seeing Shangguan Jin enter, he quickly sat up straight.
"Jin'er, why are you here at this hour? You could have just sent a maid to tell us what's wrong." The old lady said with a kind expression.
Shangguan Jin smiled and sat down in a round-backed chair in front of the old lady.
"Has Mother finished her dinner?"
There's something I need to tell Mother about, which is about your birthday this year.
Madam Shen smiled and quickly said, "I heard about it. News just came from my courtyard that it will be in ten days."
Why the sudden rush? Is there some special reason for it?
Shangguan Jin smiled and quickly explained.
"I consulted a master who said that it's possible to celebrate one's birthday earlier than expected."
Moreover, ten days from now is an auspicious day.
The master said that if the most fortunate person in the family celebrates their birthday on that day, everything will go smoothly for the family.
Upon hearing this, the old lady immediately perked up.
"real?
The master is definitely right.
Jin'er, you did the right thing. The most important thing for the Shen family now is to get things back on track.
"Don't worry about handling it. If you need my help, just send someone to let me know."
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