Matchmaker's Happy Event 2
Chen Yuanyuan felt a headache when she heard this complicated relationship.
In ancient times, marriages were based on equal status, so there were always some complicated in-law relationships between prominent families.
But she was not the real person, and she had little impression of her third cousin and his wife, so how could she know about her third cousin's wife's distant cousin who was not related to her at all.
Ling Wan laughed awkwardly a few times: "Since they are distant relatives, I guess my third cousin doesn't know much about it."
Then he thought for a moment and asked, "But since Madam Zhu and Miss Zhu have always been with Master Zhu in his post, why did Madam Zhu fall for Huailin?"
This question hit the nail on the head, and Mrs. Lu also looked at Mrs. Tao.
Mrs. Tao kept glancing at her eldest sister-in-law. Seeing that she didn't respond but didn't refuse either, she felt more confident. She clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Speaking of which, it's like fate has brought us together thousands of miles apart."
It turned out that two months ago, Shen Huailin went to Huaizhou for business, and on his way back, he met a group of Zhu family officials who came to Kyoto to visit relatives on the mountain road of Ning County.
Shen Huailin first repaired the damaged carriage for them. Seeing that it was getting late and there were many women in the group, he was worried that something might happen on the way. Since it was on his way, he escorted them back to Beijing.
On the way, Mrs. Zhu saw that Shen Huailin was handsome and had a good figure, so she took notice of him. When they said goodbye at the city gate, Mrs. Zhu asked where Shen Huailin came from and said that she would come to him in person to express her gratitude in the future.
Shen Huailin didn't want to say much, but it happened that Madam Zhu's son guessed his mother and sister's itinerary, and had been waiting at the city gate with the housekeeper these days.
Mrs. Zhu's eldest son knew Shen Huaijin, so he had met Shen Huailin on several occasions and knew that he was the third son of the eldest house in the Shen family.
At first, Mrs. Zhu felt that Qi Da and she were not a good match because their family backgrounds were too different. But later, when she was a guest at the residence of Marquis Zhongjing, she asked her own sister about everything, and after her sister's analysis, she became interested.
Kuang and Sister-in-law Liao also gave good analysis.
After hearing about Miss Zhu's family background, Mrs. Lu was already largely convinced. However, she was always cautious, so after hearing Mrs. Tao's vivid description, she said calmly, "I'll have to discuss this matter with my mother before making a decision."
Mrs. Tao knew that with her eldest sister-in-law's words, there should be no objection to the marriage, and she immediately smiled like a flower: "My eldest sister-in-law is right. This matter does require mother's approval before making a decision. Zhang Yi was reckless."
Old Madam Shen was also very satisfied with the conditions of her future third grandson's daughter-in-law, so it didn't take long for all the arrangements to be finalized.
The two parties decided to hold the meeting at the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, which would not damage the young lady's reputation and would allow for some connections. At the right time, Lu would meet Madam Zhu and the young lady of the Zhu family who happened to be visiting the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion under the pretext of visiting the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion.
Chen Yuanyuan said that this was too roundabout.
The Cheng'en Marquis's residence was Tao's natal family home, and since she had mentioned one of the reasons, it was natural for her to go home with her eldest sister-in-law. Originally, Chen Yuanyuan had no role in the matter, but perhaps because Old Lady Shen felt that her second daughter-in-law rarely socialized, she temporarily asked Lu to bring Ling Wan along.
Ling Wan acted coquettishly to Old Lady Shen, saying she didn't want to go (in ancient times, she just wanted to lie down and not think), but the old lady didn't agree. She patted her hand earnestly and said, "Next year you will be a mother-in-law, so it would be a good thing for you to get to know more people in the capital."
Chen Yuanyuan's head hurt even more after hearing this.
The marriage of Shen Huaijin and Miss Wang is scheduled for May next year. Miss Wang is only one year younger than her in age. How could she be worthy of being someone's mother-in-law?
So Chen Yuanyuan had no choice but to follow her elder sister-in-law with a smile on her face to meet her future niece-in-law.
When the three of them arrived at the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, the Zhu mother and daughter had already arrived. Tao's third sister-in-law, Dou, led a group of maids and servants to the door to greet them personally.
It was the first time that Dou had seen Xu Lingwan. Looking at her face that was as bright as pearls and as beautiful as jade behind Lu, she thought she was an unmarried daughter of the Shen family.
Mrs. Tao introduced the two with a gentle smile. After the greetings, Mrs. Dou saw the gentle look on Mrs. Lu's face as she looked at Ling Wan, and she couldn't help but sigh for her sister-in-law.
After walking for a while, the group arrived at the main courtyard where the wife of Marquis Cheng En was staying.
This was also Mrs. Zhu's first time meeting the three wives of the Shen family. One was solemn and dignified, one was kind and gentle, and one was bright and lively. The three of them were as close and harmonious as the outside world had rumored, and her heart was immediately at ease.
Mrs. Lu was a man of few words, so Mrs. Tao tactfully took over the small talk such as asking Miss Zhu what books she had read and what she liked in her daily life.
Ling Wan smiled quietly beside her. Seeing that the fifteen-year-old Miss Zhu was shy but graceful, and her answers were clear and confident, she thought that given her eldest sister-in-law's temperament, she would probably be satisfied with this second daughter-in-law.
As expected, not long after Lu returned home, the Shen family asked Mrs. Yu from the Wu'an Earl's Mansion to act as a matchmaker. Because Shen Huailin would be going to the northwest next year, the two sides worked together to set the marriage for the end of the year.
At the end of the year, Shen Huailin got married, Shen Tang got married, and the eldest brother Shen Duo returned home. These three happy events in succession made Ling Wan and Tao dare not be lazy anymore. They consciously followed their eldest sister-in-law to manage all the chores.
Tao was fine, having been exposed to the world of Marquis Cheng'en's family since childhood, and she handled the interactions between the female members of the household and the complex relationships between the servants with ease. Chen Yuanyuan, an outsider, seemed too cold and harsh in her approach, focusing on the issue rather than the person.
Chen Yuanyuan discussed this with Tao. Although she didn't see anything wrong with her "get out if you don't agree" attitude, as a newcomer to this world, she needed to adapt to local circumstances.
"Second sister-in-law, there's nothing wrong with your approach. Although your methods are harsh, you also clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, and use appropriate discretion." Mrs. Tao angrily put down her teacup, frowning and snorting, "If you start to reflect on yourself because of a few complaints from some servants who rely on their status as elders in the mansion, then what kind of master are you?"
"Hmm..." Chen Yuanyuan ate the Ruyi cake made by Tan's mother and nodded like a chick pecking at rice. It made sense.
Mrs. Tao looked at Ling Wan's clear eyes, thought for a moment, stood up, pulled Ling Wan outside and said, "Come on, Second Sister-in-law, I'll tell Mother and Eldest Sister-in-law about what those gossipers are saying about you."
"I am so good at dancing that I can't do anything about it. I didn't expect that a servant would criticize you, my master, because of this."
Uh. Chen Yuanyuan hadn't considered this before. She treated Mrs. Tao the same way she treated Mrs. Lu, forgetting that Shen Cong was the Shen family's second legitimate son and a second-rank official at the imperial court. Although Shen Wei was raised under Madam Shen's name, he was still a bastard, holding only a sixth-rank official position.
As Mr. Shen Liu's wife, Tao naturally could not act as strongly and toughly as she and her elder sister-in-law.
"Oh, oh, oh, you're protecting me, and I'm naturally grateful." Chen Yuanyuan had only bitten two-thirds of the cake when she hurriedly held her hand and said, "There's no need to tell Mother and Eldest Sister-in-law about this. We'll know their attitudes in a few days."
Tao was slightly startled when she heard this, but after she came to her senses, she squinted her beautiful almond-shaped eyes at Xu Lingwan with a cunning smile, "Lingwan, I've noticed that you can be quite clever sometimes."
The two of them have always been disrespectful when playing around in private.
Chen Yuanyuan grinned: "Thank you so much."
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