“Good child, your aunt knows you’ve just taken over the household affairs and are very busy, but I have no choice but to ask you for help.”
As the fourth wife spoke, she took out an exquisite box from her sleeve, inside which was a gold-inlaid jade hairpin, which looked quite old.
Jiang Shuwan was a well-known wealthy woman, and she had no shortage of precious jewelry. The fourth wife was afraid that she would look down on her for being shabby, so she said with guilt, "Our fourth wife is not like the first wife. This is my dowry from before. Please don't look down on it, young master's wife."
“We’re all family, Aunt, why be so distant?”
Jiang Shuwan resolutely refused to accept anything from the fourth wife. Firstly, she didn't need it, and secondly, it was something the fourth wife cherished as part of her dowry.
Secondly, she still has feelings for the fourth wife and Pei Shushu.
“Mom, you see, I told you my sister-in-law didn’t need to bring a gift. Your old-fashioned way of saying ‘the more gifts, the less likely you are to offend’ won’t work in front of her. We’re all family, there’s no need to be so polite…”
"Shut up, you brat! You're already of marriageable age, and you still don't understand a thing or two about social etiquette."
Seeing that the fourth wife was about to hit Pei Shushu, Jiang Shuwan quickly reached out to stop her and stuffed the crushed ice and jam that the fourth wife had given her into Pei Shushu's hand.
"La la la, I didn't say anything wrong, look! How much my sister-in-law loves me!"
Pei Shushu made a face at her mother as she spoke, then sat down and ate her ice cream with a smug look on her face.
The fourth wife was furious. "Look at you! How will you get married in the future!"
Jiang Shuwan understood the other meaning behind these words. She smiled and handed a cup of tea to the fourth wife, "Aunt, did you come here for Shushu's marriage?"
Instantly, Pei Shushu blushed and buried her head in the bowl, wishing she hadn't been there.
It's rare to see Pei Shushu being shy; it seems she's reached the age where she should be getting married.
Jiang Shuwan stared at the top of Pei Shushu's head with a smile in her eyes.
"Your Highness's wife, you are so wise."
The fourth wife sighed and said, "I won't lie to you. When you were in charge, I asked you several times to find a decent marriage for our fourth daughter. You agreed on the surface, but I haven't heard a word from you since..."
Jiang Shuwan held her teacup and pondered for a few moments. She roughly knew what Wen Shi was thinking.
The Wen family is a smiling Buddha; on the surface, they are naturally a close and loving family, but behind the scenes, they certainly don't want to put in any effort.
After all, if Pei Shushu's marriage is too low, it will look bad on her; if it is too high, the government might have to provide a large dowry.
Wen Shi was naturally only thinking of giving a perfunctory answer, not to mention that she was currently under house arrest and incapable of handling the matter.
But the old lady is getting on in years, and the weather is hot, so we can't let her go on such a tiring trip.
Of all the three generations of mistresses of the Marquis's mansion, she was the most suitable person to handle this matter.
She and Pei Shushu had been getting along well these days, so she was naturally willing to help with this.
But Pei Shushu's marriage is not as simple as it seems, as it is a matter within the inner quarters of the household.
In her previous life, Pei Shushu was gambled away by her muddle-headed father.
“Aunt, although I have only been married into the Marquis’s mansion for a little over half a year, I have gotten along very well with Shushu. I am willing to do my best for Shushu’s marriage, but I don’t know what Fourth Uncle thinks? After all, he is Shushu’s father, and we should ask for his opinion on this matter.”
"You're asking him? All he knows is eating meat and drinking with his old friends and cronies. He doesn't even have us, mother and daughter, in his mind!"
The fourth wife's eyes reddened as she recounted her painful experiences.
“Your uncle is a disappointment. When he was young, the old lady tried to cultivate him, encouraging him to study and take the imperial examinations, or even pursue a military career. But he couldn’t endure any hardship and was neither good at literature nor martial arts. Later, the old lady even donated money to get him a seventh-rank official position. Although it was a minor official position, at least he had a post.”
"But he disliked the low-ranking official position and resigned. He spent his days drinking and practicing martial arts, and only returned when he was short of money."
"It's as if our fourth branch of the family doesn't have him at all."
Seeing the fourth wife wiping away tears, Jiang Shuwan quickly handed her a handkerchief. While comforting the fourth wife, she kept track of the time.
In her previous life, it was also July. At that time, the Wen family was reprimanded by the Emperor. The Lady of the Marquis's residence would run to the Marquis's residence every day in order to see the Wen family make a fool of themselves.
However, it seems that around mid-July, Pei Shushu suddenly got married. At that time, it was during the mourning period for the old lady Pei, and according to custom, marriage was not allowed. At that time, the old Marquis and Pei Yanzhi were also keeping vigil in the Pei family's hometown and were not in the capital.
Pei Shushu's wedding was quite rushed; there wasn't even a banquet, and she was simply carried away in a sedan chair.
Later she learned that Pei Shushu had married a cripple who ran a gambling den. The cripple was extremely wealthy, but he was violent and had a sexual dysfunction. He enjoyed torturing women, and most women would not dare to marry him.
He set up a trap at the gambling table, causing Pei Shushu's father to incur a huge debt that the fourth branch of the family couldn't repay, so they had to use Pei Shushu to settle the debt.
The cripple's eyes turned red the moment he saw Pei Shushu. He loved to torment beautiful young women, and Pei Shushu, from a high-ranking family, was someone he could never reach before. Torturing her made him even more excited and thrilled, to the point that Pei Shushu was almost unrecognizable less than a month after marrying him.
Later, Pei Yanzhi returned from his hometown, learned of the incident, and rescued her. However, Pei Shushu was disheartened after going through such a ordeal, and moved to a nunnery outside the mountains a few days after returning home.
A young girl's life has been ruined.
Pei Yanzhi even had a fierce argument with Wen Shi over this matter.
Since this hasn't happened yet, Jiang Shuwan thought about it for a moment. Currently, neither the old Marquis nor Pei Yanzhi are in the capital, the old lady is still alive, and she is the one in charge of the household, so she naturally won't let this happen.
However, this is troublesome to prevent. After all, she is not from the fourth branch of the family and is still a junior. How could she possibly stop her fourth uncle from going out?
It was only through the intervention of the fourth wife that this matter could be resolved.
After a moment's thought, Jiang Shuwan slowly said, holding the teacup lid, "Aunt, Shushu's marriage is a major event in our household. However, this matter of finding a match cannot be settled in a short time. We must proceed slowly and methodically."
"Moreover, I also like Shushu and want her to have a good marriage. However, when it comes to marriage, especially for those from good families or those with promising sons, everyone wants to marry a good wife. My fourth uncle is currently unemployed and goes out drinking every day. I was thinking that since there is a soup kitchen in the mansion, why not have my fourth uncle and Shushu handle this matter together?"
"Firstly, it will give Fourth Uncle something to do so he won't be hanging out with his drinking buddies all day; secondly, it will allow the good families in the capital to see Shushu's character; and besides, it will also allow Shushu to learn some household chores from me."
"In this way, we should first spread our good reputation, then cultivate our skills, and then we can slowly look at marriage proposals and find a suitable match."
"My goodness! Your Highness's wife, your method is so thorough!"
The four wives were completely stunned by Jiang Shuwan's words and actions.
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