Chapter 58 (Combined Chapter)
After the Double Ninth Festival, Miaozhen took Han Yueyao's pulse and couldn't help but congratulate her with a smile: "This is a pregnancy pulse, sister-in-law, congratulations!"
Han Yueyao was overjoyed and said to Miaozhen, "Thank you so much. If I hadn't taken your medicine, my illness wouldn't have been cured, and I wouldn't be pregnant now."
"Sister-in-law, please don't say that. Now that you and your sixth sister-in-law are both pregnant, you should take good care of yourselves," Miaozhen said.
When the news of Han Yueyao's pregnancy spread, Miaozhen naturally promoted herself. Upon hearing this, Sister Xiaxian quickly found the prescription that Miaozhen had given her before, had someone get the medicine, and started taking it every day.
The second wife had two more wives who were pregnant. After returning from Hangzhou, Ren was overjoyed. The families of Lou and Han were also happy. Han Yueyao's mother, Old Madam Han, came to stay and take care of her.
Although Old Mrs. Han favored sons over daughters, unlike Mrs. Lou, she did not sow discord between the sisters-in-law. Instead, she advised Han Yueyao to get along harmoniously.
Because Han Yueyao was pregnant, Madam Ren asked Miaozhen to take over as housekeeper. Miaozhen quickly replied, "I'm afraid my daughter-in-law won't be able to manage it well."
The housekeeper's duties are very trivial and will inevitably take up a lot of your time, but Madam Ren said, "Don't worry, whatever they need to do at home, just give them the money. They just need to arrange tea and meals and manage things inside and outside the house."
Hearing her say that, Miaozhen finally agreed, but she was somewhat absent-minded during the meal.
Xiao Jingshi asked, "What's wrong with you?"
"It's all because Madam told me to take over managing the household from my sister-in-law. This is my first time managing a household," Miaozhen sighed.
Xiao Jingshi put down his chopsticks and asked in surprise, "When you were in Nanjing, weren't you also the housekeeper? You managed things so well back then, why are you afraid now?"
Miaozhen laughed and said, "There were only a few people, and most of them were my own people. Of course I could manage them well. But now that there's such a large family, I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it well, and that would be very embarrassing."
"Zhenzhen, you can handle treating such difficult illnesses with ease, what's there to be afraid of in managing a household?" Xiao Jingshi simply didn't understand.
Ke Miaozhen stood up and said, "It's easy to do things, I can do even the most complicated things well, but dealing with people is troublesome."
Xiao Jingshi discovered that Miaozhen was indeed a bit unsociable at times. She could stay at home all day without moving and have a great time by herself. Sometimes she would read books all day, and sometimes she would learn this or that. Apart from necessary free clinics, she hardly interacted with anyone.
But she's clearly very eloquent and capable!
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. You can just hand it over to your sister-in-law after she gives birth, after a few months,” Xiao Jingshi said.
Despite Miaozhen's great anxiety, she was actually quite organized once she got to work. She first had her main hall cleaned and instructed the servants and maids to report any requests to her there.
As for all the big and small matters at home, they were handed over to Han Yueyao, who could then focus on her pregnancy.
Xiao Xi and Miao Zhen served tea. Miao Zhen took a sip and was flipping through the old account books. Looking at the old rules, she was still a little nervous. She comforted herself, telling herself to take it slow. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Things will be fine once things are in order.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps and quickly sat up straight, only to find that it was Xiao Jingshi who entered.
"What are you doing here?" Miaozhen asked, somewhat disappointed to see him.
Xiao Jingshi may not care about his own affairs that much, but seeing Miaozhen so uneasy last night, he was also worried, so he came over without thinking, saying, "I came here to look for something."
"Oh, then you go ahead and look for it." Miaozhen sat down.
Xiao Jingshi looked at her lowered head, and for some reason, his nose tingled with emotion. He then pointed outside and said, "If you need anything, come to me."
Miaozhen glanced at him, and a sweet feeling welled up inside her.
The first one to arrive was the head of the kitchen, and Miaozhen immediately gave instructions: "Today, Sixth Madam's mother and sister-in-law are coming over, so please add two more dishes. Also, since Master is going to the Peng family today, please prepare six dishes of soup."
Seeing that the new manager, Fourth Madam, barely exchanged pleasantries or gave him any warning, the steward immediately began issuing orders, and the steward quickly agreed.
Miaozhen asked her to calculate how much money was needed, and the woman gave a number. Miaozhen thought about it and it matched, so she said to Xiaoxi, "Give her the money."
After seeing off one of the stewards, Miaozhen breathed a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, the second person to arrive was not a servant from the house, but a farm manager from outside who delivered extra rice. Miaozhen asked Ping'an to go to Ren's place to get the key to open the warehouse. She herself couldn't just sit there; she also had to check the newly delivered rice.
She didn't know when Xiao Jing had touched her, but he said to her, "Look, the germ of new rice is milky white or light yellow, while the germ of old rice is dark in color. New rice is more resilient and not easy to crush, while old rice is easy to crush. Also, new rice has a strong fragrance, while old rice has little to no taste."
After saying that, he pointed inside and said, "You see, rice placed in that corner is prone to getting damp, so we have to have someone move it out and air it out."
Miaozhen hadn't expected that Xiao Jingshi, who was usually so upright and gentle, would know so much about Jiaxuan. She quickly said, "Wait a minute, while my memory is still good, I need to write down what you said first."
After saying that, he immediately took out paper and pen and wrote it down.
Following Xiao Jingshi's instructions, the rice and grain were inspected upon arrival. Any grains that might be moldy or damp were moved out to dry under the eaves. The warehouse manager was instructed to pack them back in before sunset.
Xiao Jingshi rarely says things like "I'll help you," but he always teaches you through his actions.
After the new rice was stored, Miaozhen came back with him first. The mistress of the Xiao family had not yet used the matching tokens. It was all about who was in charge of the household, where the money box was placed, and how the accounts were kept and the money was spent.
Moreover, above Miaozhen is the Ren family, and a large sum of money is still with her.
Every now and then, the old woman who did the laundry came over and said she wanted to buy washboards and soap powder. Miaozhen looked at the account books from previous years and opened the money. Then there was the stable to buy hay and fodder. And the maid from Lou Qiongyu's place asked how Miaoge'er's clothes were being made. Miaozhen asked Xiaoxi to urge her to hurry up.
She didn't stop until noon.
Xiao Jingshi ate with her and couldn't help but ask, "How is it?"
"I should thank you more," Miaozhen said with a smile.
The two were eating when they heard that the stable was on fire. Xiao Jingshi was about to speak when he saw Miaozhen get up and go to the stable immediately. She had the servants use buckets to fetch water, clear the woodpile, and cover flammable items with wet cloths to prevent the fire from spreading. In less than a quarter of an hour, the fire was extinguished.
After the fire was extinguished, Miaozhen did not leave. She inquired in detail about the cause of the fire in the stable. It turned out that Zhao Si, who was in charge of the stable, had placed his pipe next to the hay and accidentally set it on fire.
Zhao Si then argued, "Fourth Madam, it was those servants who slandered me."
"Where were you when the fire started? Who were you with? Did you have a pipe with you? Who can testify for you?" Miaozhen asked a series of questions, leaving Zhao Si stammering.
Standing next to Miaozhen, Xiao Jingshi also spoke up: "Zhao Si, you are also an elder in the family. If you admit it, it will only be a deduction of half a month's salary. If it is really found out, the crime will be much more serious. You should think it over."
Clearly, Xiao Jingshi's words carried more weight than his own. Upon hearing this, Zhao Si hurriedly said, "Fourth Grandmother, it was my fault."
Miaozhen, with a stern face, cut off his half-month's worth of rice.
On the first day, all the housekeeper's affairs piled up, and even Han Yueyao came over to her and said, "You've been having a run of bad luck these past few days, haven't you? How come you've encountered things that I rarely experience even once a year?"
"So, Second Sister-in-law, hurry up and give birth. I'll hand over the responsibilities to you." Miaozhen looked utterly exhausted.
Han Yueyao smiled and patted her shoulder: "Let's keep an eye on it for now."
Although Miaozhen said that, she worked diligently and within about half a month, she had managed the housekeeping affairs quite smoothly, even more so than Han Yueyao.
He would get up in the morning and spend about an hour assigning tasks before treating patients. He would rest for a while at noon, then spend the afternoon teaching children. Before going to bed at night, he would check the utensils, charcoal fire, and the two gates inside and outside. He was incredibly meticulous.
When he returned to bed, Xiao Jingshi was reading in the bedroom. In the past, he would read in the study until very late, and sometimes he would even sleep in the study. But these days he was always in the bedroom, which obviously meant that he was getting closer to him.
The lamp wick crackled and sparked. Xiao Jingshi wore a dark blue robe, his hair was half-draped, his skin appeared snow-white, and his features were even more handsome. Miaozhen's heart suddenly started beating very fast.
We've always heard that men are lustful, but do women also have lustful desires?
"Husband." Miaozhen didn't know what to say, so she just called out.
Xiao Jingshi turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"
Miaozhen shook her head: "It's nothing, I just wanted to thank you for always helping me when you were my housekeeper."
"I didn't help you," Xiao Jingshi said casually.
Miaozhen couldn't help but laugh and said, "You've clearly been helping me the whole time, yet you say you haven't. Didn't you say your right eyelid was twitching? I'll give you some moxibustion, otherwise you'll easily get facial paralysis."
Upon hearing about moxibustion, Xiao Jingshi was very willing. Miaozhen specially brought over three-year-old aged moxa to perform moxibustion on his pupils and acupoints, and then massaged him afterward.
Xiao Jingshi felt as comfortable as a cat: "Mmm, this is it, it feels so good."
"Feels good, doesn't it?" Miao Zhen thought to herself, "I'm a professional acupuncture and massage therapist; this is my true calling."
When she massaged him, he had an expression of enjoyment, which made Miaozhen unable to resist kissing his forehead. Xiao Jingshi took her hand and said, "Why don't we massage him later? Let's take care of our business first."
"Get things done? What kind of things do you need to get done?" Miaozhen asked, puzzled.
But then he rolled off the chaise lounge, picked her up, and patted her shoulder: "The food hasn't been soaked yet."
Xiao Jingshi immediately deflated: "Fine, continue massaging me."
Miaozhen doesn't want to have a child so soon, and seeing how cooperative he is, she can't help but give him a massage.
On the other side, Lou Qiongyu was stroking her belly, unable to sleep. After becoming pregnant, she immediately sent Xiao Jingtang to rest in a side room, as having offspring was of utmost importance.
But sleeping alone in the cold bed, I felt very lonely, and the girls around me didn't share many heartfelt words.
Now that his second sister-in-law is pregnant, it doesn't really matter that she was pregnant before. Because the couple hasn't had intercourse during her pregnancy, Xiao Jingtang, being a good-natured and young man, doesn't usually provoke others, but they still try to take advantage of him, and now they have even more opportunities.
Although there may not be any immediate problems, there is always something to rely on. What can she do?
Thinking of this, she felt that Xia Xianjie was ungrateful for her good fortune. Xiao Jingyan was such a good person, talented and handsome, yet she was still not satisfied and was having an affair behind her back.
Seeing that Lou Qiongyu was still awake, Fangyun, who was keeping watch at night, hurriedly urged, "Sixth Madam, please rest. You can't stay up any longer."
Fangyun had grown up with Lou Qiongyu since childhood and knew that although Lou Qiongyu seemed obedient, she actually had high aspirations. She never intended to compare herself with Han and Xu. No matter what Han Yueyao's husband was like, he would only be a merchant in the future and would not succeed in his studies. The Xu family was just a family of students in the Imperial Academy. If Xiao Jingshi became successful, it might not necessarily be a good thing for her.
Unexpectedly, Han Yueyao is now pregnant, and Xu Shi has used her medical skills to make connections with powerful and influential people, and she is not inferior to any of them.
Fangyun was at a loss for words to comfort Lou Qiongyu, but luckily Lou Qiongyu sighed and went to sleep.
On the first day of the tenth lunar month, the traditional Chinese New Year is celebrated. Families visit graves and prepare paper money, gold ingots, winter clothes, and other offerings. Miaozhen had managed this business with Han Yueyao last year, so she knew all about it, especially the winter clothes, which she got directly from her own shop.
Every year, the bookstore would print out five-colored patterns for men and women, similar to paper clothes, and they sold quite well.
This time, since she was in charge of the household, she would definitely be looking after her own business. Xu Erpeng directly sent Laiwang to deliver the money, and Miaozhen had Xiaoxi give her the silver.
Laiwang also got married this year, wearing a net cap, and married Yinhuan, the head maid of his mother.
After the Lunar New Year, comes the Winter Solstice. The atmosphere of celebrating the Winter Solstice in Wuzhong is very strong, and there is even a saying that "the Winter Solstice is more important than the Lunar New Year."
Of course, this also added a lot of work for Miaozhen. First, she had to ask Ren Shi for permission, then take the satin and choose an auspicious day to have someone come to her door to tailor new clothes. The new glutinous rice for making glutinous rice cakes also had to be prepared in advance. In addition, there was also mutton for nourishment, as well as cakes and pastries.
These are the tasks that the public must complete. In addition, each family must make shoes and socks to present to their elders, in order to express the meaning of "serving the elders".
I'd actually been making shoes and socks before when I had some free time, so now I'm just finishing them up.
"Fourth Grandma, the glutinous rice is soaked." The kitchen staff came over and said.
Miaozhen went there herself and soaked the glutinous rice a day in advance. She put the rice and water into a stone mill, ground it into water, tied it into a bag, and weighed it down with a stone. The next day, she could use this powder to make winter solstice dumplings.
Winter Solstice dumplings are filled with sugar, meat, vegetables, fruit, red bean paste, and shredded radish. Besides being used for sacrifices, they are also given as gifts.
Miaozhen originally wanted to make some pastries in the same way as making boat-shaped pastries, so that they would be both beautiful and festive. However, she also knew that she was too meticulous in everything she did. If others couldn't compare to her, they would inevitably become jealous and think that she was showing off.
But she couldn't just settle for mediocrity to upset others, so she always used the traditional offerings for the sacrificial rites. However, when it came to the Winter Solstice plate, she had her own ingenuity. Typically, the Winter Solstice plate had pastries on top, fish and meat in the middle, and a layer of red paper at the bottom. The pastries she gave were all shaped like flowers, plants, insects, birds, or animals, especially the little yellow chicks, which she made the best, placing them delicately and adorably on the top layer.
We give them to outsiders, and our two little devils always get theirs too. Fu-jie likes the little white rabbit, and Zhao-ge likes the little goldfish. Both of them have red bean paste filling, and they drool over them.
"If you two little devils don't eat, I won't make it for you next time," Miaozhen said, pretending to be angry.
Fu-jie hugged Miao-zhen's leg and said, "Mother, I'll eat it."
Miaozhen patted her daughter's head and said, "After you and your brother have eaten, shall we go inside and look at the picture book for an hour?"
The most important thing for children is to cultivate their ability to concentrate. If they are half-hearted and inconsistent in their work from a young age, they will definitely achieve nothing in the future.
Therefore, no matter how busy she is, she will take care of the children and will not use being busy as an excuse to neglect them.
The two children went in obediently. Miaozhen sat in the middle, with one child on each side. Miaozhen held up "Newly Compiled Couplets in Four-Character Verses" and pointed to the page they had read yesterday, saying, "Yesterday we learned about the sky, clouds, thunder, and rain. Okay, now which one will Mother point to? Whoever tells me will get a little red flower as a reward. Whoever gets the most will get ten candies."
As soon as Zhao Ge'er heard about the candy, he sat up straight, and Fu Jie'er also smacked her lips.
"What is this?" Miaozhen pointed to the mountain.
Sister Fu quickly replied, "It's a mountain."
"That's right."
Zhao Ge'er secretly blushed, and when Miao Zhen pointed to the three small circles connected together, he immediately said, "It's a star."
The mother and her two daughters reviewed the text once more, and then taught the second page of "bamboo, lotus, plum, and willow" again. In the end, Fu-jie won, and Zhao-ge cried.
Miaozhen coaxed him, "If you want candy, you have to read books properly, just like your sister. I'll ask your grandfather to bring two books so you can read them more often."
"Okay." After wiping away his tears, Zhao Ge'er nestled his head in Miao Zhen's arms.
After the winter solstice, it was the two children's birthday. Xu Erpeng and the Mei family came over specially. Mei made a rabbit hat for Fujie and a tiger head hat for Zhaoge, as well as two sets of clothes for each of them. Xu Erpeng gave each of his two grandsons a set of primers.
Seeing that Miao Zhen had dark circles under her eyes, Madam Mei quickly asked, "Is the housekeeper very tired?"
“Yes, especially at the end of the year it’s very tiring. With Laba Festival and Little New Year coming up soon, it’s really busy and you can’t stop once you get going,” Miaozhen said.
Madam Mei laughed and said, "It's fortunate that you have three sisters-in-law; otherwise, with only one, you would be too busy to notice."
Miaozhen nodded: "Yes, I heard from my mother-in-law that from now on, our sisters-in-law will take turns taking care of the children for ten days each, so that everyone can have an easier time. Otherwise, it will be really tiring."
Speaking of her sister-in-law, Madam Mei said, "Scholar Huang fell seriously ill and passed away a few days ago."
"Who is Scholar Huang?" Miaozhen didn't react for a moment.
Mei said, "Your aunt's father."
"Oh, so it was him. That's understandable. Uncle was so disgraced back then, how could he possibly come back?" Miaozhen was somewhat able to understand.
But Madam Mei sighed: "Your eldest uncle and father-in-law can be ignored, but what about your grandfather? Your grandparents have gone to Huating with your third uncle. When they die, who knows who will be there to see them off?"
Actually, there's no need to even think about this. Miaozhen said, "You and Dad should get ready. You'll be the ones to see us off in our final days. It's already a good thing that Uncle and the others didn't abandon Grandpa and Grandma to you."
Having been married for two years, her daughter had seen through the ways of the world. Although she was troubled by the outcome, Madam Mei said, "Yes."
“So, whenever you and Dad can take advantage of the cheap coffins, just buy one for the house. Don’t be so superstitious, then you won’t be caught unprepared when your grandparents pass away,” Miaozhen said.
Madam Mei quickly said, "Why bring this up when it's your son's and daughter's birthdays?"
Miaozhen could clearly sense that Madam Mei was troubled. In fact, her mother was not a stingy person, but the saying "people are not worried about scarcity but about inequality" meant this.
Household chores are always a hassle to talk about, so Mei suppressed her feelings and Miaozhen stopped mentioning them. Instead, she had someone sweep the snow and brew tea, and talked to her about other things.
"My husband will be going to the capital next year. I wonder how he will do in the imperial examination? I saw that my sixth uncle next door failed the exam twice and is now disheartened."
A few people have a good mindset, while most people find it hard to maintain it. For example, Miaozhen's mindset has collapsed several times, but she still has to hold on. Xiao Jingshi, on the other hand, is a proud and arrogant person. I wonder what will happen to him.
Madam Mei thought to herself that while her son-in-law Xiao had failed the imperial examination, Lu Shi'an had passed and entered the Hanlin Academy. However, just as her husband had said, once Lu Shi'an became successful, her aunt and cousin were just living off the land and had no intention of taking them to the capital.
It's strange that he clearly has the leisure to take revenge on the scholar Gu who bullied him in the past, but he doesn't have time to bring his aunt to the capital.
But given Lu Shi'an's strong desire for revenge, one wonders if he might hold a grudge against their family.
But their daughter is already married. If they were to talk about it at her husband's house and someone overheard, it would cause trouble. They could just wait until the New Year to discuss it. Today is not only the birthday of the two children, but also the birthday of Madam Chao. They also have to go to the eldest son's house to offer their congratulations.
The birthday banquet that Sister Xia Xian organized for Madam Chao the year before last was very grand, but Miao Zhen was giving birth at the time, so everyone left in a hurry. Last year, Sister Xia Xian was not in the mood to organize it. This year, in order to please Madam Chao, she did organize it quite well. In short, she was willing to spend money and achieve the desired effect.
Seeing this, Madam Chao forgave Xia Xianjie considerably.
Lou Qiongyu, who was about to give birth, said, "My aunt is truly kind-hearted."
Miao Zhen never expected these words to come from Lou Qiongyu's mouth. She thought that Sister Xia Xian always talked about herself or Han Yueyao, but never about her.
From Chao's perspective, it's easy to understand. The Xiao family is not a small or insignificant household. Xiao Jingyan is now an official, and if she were to delve too deeply into things, a scandal might occur, and she would also be accused of failing to manage her household properly. This would also make her, as the matriarch, look bad. It would be better to leave Xia Xianjie to teach her slowly, since the eldest branch of the family already has a grandson.
Moreover, Xia Xianjie has an extremely strong mental fortitude. As long as she is not caught, she will deny everything to the death and has no sense of moral guilt. She doesn't care about any of the female virtues and teachings that Chao Shi uses.
Chao was concerned about his reputation and wanted to maintain a facade of harmony.
At the end of the year, Lou Qiongyu gave birth to a daughter. While the Xiao family was still immersed in joy, they heard from outside that the prefect's wife had invited Miaozhen over, saying, "Doctor Xu, something bad has happened. Our young mistress has been in labor for six or seven days. Her placenta has ruptured, but the baby is nowhere to be seen. It may be a difficult labor. Please come over."
"Why did you invite me? Isn't my master, Madam Tao, watching over there?" Miaozhen knew that her master had almost monopolized the upper echelons of Suzhou.
But the person who came glanced at Miaozhen and said, "It was Doctor Ru who sent us to invite you over."
Miaozhen was taken aback, thinking that a crisis might not be an opportunity. She waved her hand and said, "Prepare the carriages and horses. I'll be there right away."
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