"In the past two years, the Duke's mansion has been sending things that look nice but are useless."
As Jiang Shuwan spoke, she unfolded the two gift lists.
Instantly, Madam Pei's expression changed.
Because these two gift lists were too ugly, the Marquis's Mansion sent lavish gifts to the Duke's Mansion. Especially in the last two years, Jin Jiaoniang has been arrogant, and in order to support Pei Jing, the gifts sent to the Duke's Mansion are even more lavish than in the previous three years.
The Duke's mansion returned only bowls and tree branches.
It's not only worthless, but it also lacks any sentiment.
"No way, how could this be..."
"Grandma, isn't there some misunderstanding...?"
Pei Jing panicked and quickly grabbed the gift list to look at it. Jiang Yao also craned her neck and looked at it. Pei Jing turned pale, while Jiang Yao was full of questions.
"What's going on? The Duke's Mansion is actually showing such disrespect to the Marquis's Mansion in returning the favor. This is too strange. The Jin family is only a third-rank official. Even if the two families are very close, they can't possibly surpass the Marquis's Mansion..."
The room was silent; no one spoke.
This was beyond their comprehension. One was a Marquis's mansion, the other a third-rank official. Anyone with a brain would be more inclined to be with the Marquis's mansion than the Duke's mansion.
Jiang Yao couldn't understand it, and neither could Pei Jing.
"Wan, what do you think?"
In the silence, Madam Pei suddenly called out Jiang Shuwan's name.
Is the old lady testing her again?
Jiang Shuwan looked up at Old Madam Pei without saying a word.
After all, these words were related to the imperial court and the Marquis's political stance.
"It's okay, go ahead and say it. I won't blame you if you say something wrong."
Seeing that Madam Pei was calm and composed, Jiang Shuwan became even more certain that her guess was correct.
"Grandma, just as my second sister said, the Marquis's mansion is now favored by the Emperor. The old Marquis is in charge of the Imperial Guard and is the most respected minister in His Majesty's eyes. I think as long as the Duchess is not obsessed with personal gain, she will know who to be close to and who to keep at a distance."
"But now that things are like this, my granddaughter-in-law thinks there's only one reason."
"The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for gain."
"The Duke's mansion acts this way because they believe that being close to the Jin family will bring them more benefits than being close to the Marquis's mansion!"
"Are you crazy? We are the Marquis's mansion..."
Seeing that Pei Jing still didn't understand the reasoning, Jiang Shuwan chuckled, "Eldest sister, no matter how powerful the Marquis's mansion is, if the Duke's mansion doesn't enjoy it, it will naturally feel insignificant."
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and stopped talking.
Pei Jing and Jiang Yao were still confused and didn't understand the meaning behind her words.
"Good boy, you're so clever."
Madam Pei smiled faintly.
After laughing, the old man sighed again.
She glanced at Jiang Shuwan, then at Jiang Yao, and felt that since they were both matriarchs of the Pei clan, there were some things she couldn't hide from them. So she said, "The Marquis's mansion has indeed been glorious these past few years, holding the Imperial Guard and enjoying unparalleled prestige. But precisely because this position is so important, our Pei clan has never dared to get too close to other officials in the court."
"After all, the Marquis's mansion is already glorious enough. If it were to form factions, His Majesty might become suspicious."
“The Jin family is different. They are from the Ministry of Works and have close ties with the Duke’s mansion, but they are not so conspicuous.”
"The Jin family can be closely connected with the Duke's mansion, but we cannot."
As she spoke, Madam Pei gave Pei Jing a deep look.
She disagreed with Pei Jing marrying into the Duke's family back then, not only because none of the Duke's descendants were capable, but also because she feared they might have ulterior motives and want to use the Duke's family's power for personal gain.
However, the Marquis's mansion was not allowed to engage in private activities.
As Jiang Shuwan said, the Duke's Mansion found that it would not benefit from a marriage alliance with the Marquis's Mansion, so it naturally became less interested.
And just then, the Jin family was promoted to a higher official rank and became a favorite of His Majesty, so the Duke's Mansion would definitely value the Jin family even more.
Jin Jiaoniang naturally became more and more arrogant, no longer behaving subserviently in front of Pei Jing as before.
"So that's how it is. No wonder Jin Jiaoniang was so confident in disrespecting Sister Pei Jing."
Hearing this, Jiang Yao understood, and she suddenly realized.
She knew it! Pei Jing is so arrogant, and the Marquis's mansion is so powerful. How could a mere Jin Jiaoniang climb above Pei Jing, and Pei Jing can't do anything about her? It turns out there's another reason behind this.
"Grandma, it's all because the Jin family rose through the ranks too quickly. And the former governor of the river was a good-for-nothing who held the position without doing his job properly. I don't know which family he came from, but he didn't do his job well, so His Majesty dismissed him from his post. Otherwise, why would the Jin family have been appointed governor of the river?"
Jiang Yao spat indignantly, outwardly feeling indignant for Pei Jingming, but inwardly she was actually quite happy.
That bitch Pei Jing, hasn't she always looked down on women of lower social standing than her?
Now look what's happened! The Jin family has gained so much influence and is so close to the Duke's mansion. Jin Jiaoniang, a mere illegitimate daughter, is constantly putting her above everyone else. Let's see how she survives in the future...
"Miss!"
Jiang Yao felt her personal maid tug at her sleeve, and the looks she received from the others in the room were quite indescribable.
What happened?
She must be right, right?
Why are you looking at her like that?
Jiang Yao was confused, but her personal maid lowered her head in shame. "Miss, the old magistrate in our mansion was dismissed for embezzling public funds for river repairs."
Jiang Yao: "..."
Awkward!
This is so embarrassing!
Jiang Yao huddled in the chair, wishing she could dig a hole and crawl into it.
She really didn't mean it; she genuinely forgot about it.
"Alright, there's no need to bring up the past."
Madam Pei was also disappointed in the old man, and since she didn't want to talk about it, the topic shifted to Jiang Shuwan.
“Wan, what do you think? Jing is, after all, a member of the Marquis’s household.”
“Grandma, I know,” Jiang Yao answered quickly.
"Grandma, in my opinion, the Jin family is so favored by His Majesty and so close to the Duke's Mansion. If we use our power to force the Duke's Mansion to deal with Jin Jiaoniang, the Duke's Mansion may not listen to us. In the end, not only will we fail to deal with Jin Jiaoniang, but we will also lose face for our Marquis's Mansion."
Jiang Yao spoke rapidly, having just lost face and now wanting to regain it, so she wanted to show off her knowledge and make everyone think highly of her.
Madam Pei nodded, agreeing with what she said.
"You do have some wisdom. So what do you think we should do?"
"..."
Jiang Yao froze.
How could she know what to do?
The Duke's Mansion is clearly elevating the Jin family and Jin Jiaoniang. If a cow doesn't drink water, can it be forced to elevate Pei Jing?
Besides, even if she had a way, she wouldn't tell Pei Jing about it!
Besides, this is clearly Pei Jing's own fault. She was the one who wanted to marry him and they even secretly got engaged.
She has sown the seeds, so she must reap the bitter fruit.
It's also quite obvious that Jiang Shuwan has to come up with a solution to Pei Jing's predicament.
She's not crazy, why would she help Jiang Shuwan...
Thinking of this, Jiang Yao slipped and hid behind Jiang Shuwan.
whee.
If it doesn't concern me, I'll stay out of it.
Jiang Shuwan: "..."
Madam Pei was speechless.
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