"What, do I have to go with you?" Jian Ningchu looked at Mi Niang, very confused.
Mi Niang nodded: "You see, the invitation has been sent to me. They know that I will be having a party with the ladies of this mansion. The Zhang family said that they will be the host. I think since they also sent the invitation to you, they naturally want to find out the truth."
Jian Ningchu was a little nervous: "Should I pay attention to something?"
"No need, just be normal. We knew each other before, it's not like we're total strangers. Sometimes being too deliberate is not a good thing. Besides, do sisters really have to be so close?" Mi Niang comforted her with a smile.
Only then did Jian Ningchu feel a little relieved.
Because she was meeting guests, Mi Niang wore a snow-white rhombus-patterned jacket inside and a dark blue jacket with silver thread and peony flowers outside. She was young, and wearing dark blue made her look more dignified. Jian Ningchu was younger, and she usually wore pink and red, so Mi Niang was surprised to see her wearing a blue-collared jacket with small silver chrysanthemum flowers.
"Isn't it too plain? You just got married not long ago?" Mi Niang reminded.
Hearing the word "marriage", Jian Ning initially felt a little breathless, but Mi Niang was not the kind of person who could coax others. It was not that she wanted to remain rational and heartless, but that when she did things, she wanted to do them well and did not want to mix other emotions into them.
The person at the helm of the Zhang family is a woman, which increases the difficulty for Fang Weiyan and others to contact her. After all, there are differences between men and women. Therefore, the reason why Mi Niang did this was that she also wanted to contact the person at the helm of the Zhang family.
Let's quickly resolve this case. In the next few years, Fang Weiyan can just focus on people's livelihood and won't have to worry about such things.
She didn't need Jian Ningchu to show so much intimacy, because since ancient times, sisters were not necessarily very close to each other, just like Fang Yaqing and her younger sisters were not very close, especially after they got married and started their own families. Although they would still interact with each other, they did not interact much because the men they married had different backgrounds.
Just like Fang Yaqing married a noble Hanlin Lang, her other sister Fang Yaping married a nobleman. One was a scholar and the other was a military officer, so they made friends with different people and naturally had less interaction.
Mi Niang compares their identities to those set by Gu Wangshu. They are both sisters, but one marries a civil official and the other marries a merchant. They meet on the road, and the younger sister's family has fallen into poverty. Even though the elder sister takes them in, their identities are unequal, so it is normal that they are a little cold and don't talk often.
Of course, not all relationships are like this, but Mi Niang and Jian Ningchu are too familiar with each other. If they pretend to be very familiar with each other, it will be easy for them to be exposed and their tricks will be discovered.
"My father passed away, and I'm still in mourning." She was shocked to hear that her father had died young from tuberculosis due to the suffering of exile, but it was not appropriate to wear mourning clothes while being with Gu Wangshu, so she could only wear simpler clothes.
Mi Niang lowered her eyes, "What will you do if there is something fishy on the table later? I haven't seen you avoid it before."
It's right to mourn, but you don't consider the situation.
I don't know if it's because Mi Niang has always been polite to her, but now she suddenly frowned. Jian Ningchu is known as the "perfect" girl. Her outstanding qualities are her gentleness, tolerance and non-complaint. But I don't know what happened to her today. When she heard what Mi Niang said, she thought of Gu Wangshu. It seemed that Gu Wangshu also spoke in the same way.
Very rude, very to the point.
Normally he is serious, but when he gets angry he becomes very crazy.
Seeing that Jian Ningchu didn't say anything, Mi Niang said, "Hurry up and change. How many wives of merchants have you seen dressed like this? And Commander Gu brought you here, he must want us to have more contact with the Zhang family as soon as possible. If you don't show your enthusiasm for doing business, how can you establish this relationship?"
Fortunately, she is not her biological sister. If she were, Mi Niang would be even more reluctant to associate with her.
If you are going to do something, don't be pretentious if you are ready to do it.
So, Jian Ningchu changed into a brighter outfit.
After the two of them got on the carriage, Mi Niang said thoughtfully, "Those who have gone are gone, and those who are still alive should live well."
But she never said anything else.
Jian Ningchu looked at Mi Niang, who was leaning against the carriage and dozing off. In fact, she was very good-looking, but her most outstanding feature was not her appearance, but her outstanding temperament. Such a person would never be buried anywhere.
His eyes are big and firm. He will not give up until he reaches his goal. As long as he does it, he is never afraid of difficulties.
But when they arrived at Jiuru Tower, they found it was decorated with lights and lively, yet not out of the ordinary. A capable female shopkeeper greeted them at the door.
The shopkeeper stepped forward and kowtowed, saying that his surname was Xiao.
"Manager Xiao, please take me and my sister upstairs."
Shopkeeper Xiao said eagerly, "Our three young ladies are all waiting, as are several wives of the magistrates and county magistrates. It's really lively today. Our third young lady even specially ordered someone to prepare Jiangling snacks."
"Hey, how can you be so embarrassed?" Mi Niang and Jian Ningchu looked at each other and lied with their eyes open: "You always want to eat our Jiangling food, but you just follow your man around. Fortunately, the Third Miss is considerate today."
Jian Ningchu also said at the right time: "Sister is right. Even if we let the chefs at home cook, they always feel that the food is not authentic enough."
Shopkeeper Xiao looked at the two sisters and found them both to be stunning beauties. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as them in Dengzhou.
After going up the stairs, she saw a woman in red standing at the door. She was about to kneel down. Mi Niang saw that she was as beautiful as a peach and had a slim figure.
When she saw Mi Niang, she bowed and said, "Madam, please forgive me for being rude and not going out to greet you."
Zhang Shunfang spoke in a clear voice without any hesitation, and had an indescribable unrestrained spirit.
Everyone said she was a beauty snake, but Mi Niang thought, no wonder she was called a beauty snake. No matter what, from the way she spoke, it could be seen that she was not an ordinary woman, and there was not the slightest bit of timidity in her.
Mi Niang waved her hands: "Originally, I was supposed to be the host, but then I heard from Madam Fu that Miss Zhang San was going to be the host on my behalf. I am really ashamed."
"It is our blessing to be able to welcome guests for the wife of the prefect. Besides, you have just arrived and you don't know the customs here. Don't we have us here? If it weren't for Qiao Zong'er, I wouldn't have the chance to show off in front of you."
Zhang Shunfang also took the opportunity to look at Mi Niang. She was dressed very elegantly, but she only smiled when she spoke. She looked like a reserved lady. Such a lady was easy to fool.
They had never traveled far away. Every day they were either with their husbands or servants. At most, those from larger families would interact with the people in the clan. However, Zhang Shunfang also knew that no one should be underestimated, especially women.
When Jian Ning first saw Zhang Shunfang's eloquence, she was secretly impressed, but she knew that she had a bad reputation and was worried about Mi Niang.
Even if her husband isn't taken away from her, it would be uncomfortable if there was any affair.
However, Mi Niang was like a normal person. After she went in, she didn't see Madam Xu at first. This was normal, as the highest-ranking official usually arrived last.
Several wives of the magistrates quickly stood up to greet them, and Mi Niang responded with a smile.
Zhang Shunfang then introduced her two elder sisters to Mi Niang. The eldest sister of the Zhang family was called Qinfang. She fit Mi Niang's impression of a northern girl very much: she was plump and tall. The second sister of the Zhang family was called Liufang, who looked very simple and innocent.
Mi Niang also introduced Jian Ningchu to them, "This is my sister. She is usually timid. Ladies, please take good care of her in the future for my sake."
Everyone was talking and laughing when they saw a magistrate's wife sighing slightly. Mi Niang asked, "Why is Madam He sighing?"
The wife of Judge He said worriedly, "We have a severe drought in Shandong. It was originally Madam Xiang's turn this year, but unfortunately she went to Yunnan with her father. If we hadn't confirmed that someone would come down as soon as possible, how could we distribute porridge?"
"Excuse me, is this Madam Xiang the former prefect's wife?" Mi Niang asked.
Mrs. He nodded in agreement.
But the round-faced lady next to him, the wife of Judge Chen, came out to smooth things over and said, "Madam Fang has just arrived. Why are you saying this? You shouldn't be saying this."
Mi Niang smiled and said, "It's okay. I don't know what your rules were before. I'm young, so I might as well listen. Madam Gui, what do you think?"
These ladies wouldn't take turns distributing porridge. They are just here to set a trap today.
But only a few wives of the Tongpans knew about the plan, which was normal. If everyone knew about something, it was no longer a secret.
Madam Gui was the wife of the magistrate of Yun County under Dengzhou. When she saw Mi Niang asking her, she became nervous and said quickly, "Madam Magistrate, our master just came here, I don't know either."
Mi Niang smiled and said, "But wasn't the Yun County Magistrate a student of the Imperial College and was sent here three years ago? Could it be that you didn't take up the post three years ago and came here later?"
Mrs. Gui immediately laughed twice in embarrassment.
This is of course the first trap. To capture the young and fresh-looking Ruan, distributing porridge is not something that can be done with just a little money. If any troubles arise along the way, it will be easy for the Zhang family to play tricks on them. Even if Mi Niang doesn't want to accept their favor, there is nothing she can do.
Unexpectedly, she counterattacked so quickly and very cleverly. Second sister Zhang glanced at her younger sister Zhang Shunfang, who smiled knowingly and thought to herself, interesting, this person is really interesting.
Jian Ningchu was also sweating as she watched from the side. She might not be able to cope with the several wives of the Tongpans, one playing the good cop and the other playing the bad cop. However, she immediately named someone and knew right away when the person's husband had been the county magistrate. Her reaction was too happy.
In the past, when Minister Jian was still alive, he was very good at physiognomy. In order to please her grandfather, Jian Ningchu also found many books on physiognomy to read. Therefore, she secretly took a look at Mi Niang and thought to herself, I don’t think she is good at first glance, but after a second look, I find that she is extraordinary.
At first, I thought she was destined to be a phoenix. After all, she had risen from a poor family to a wealthy one, and Fang Weiyan was ambitious, so she would definitely get better and better. But now, I see that she has both the ambition of Meng De and the heart of Ah Man. In simple terms, she has both great talent and the heart of a treacherous villain.
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