Jiang Shuwan was leisurely drinking old duck soup when she saw Qingxing rush in.
The little girl disappeared as soon as she returned to the manor; I don't know where she ran off to, and she's only just come back now.
"Miss, Miss."
"I just heard from the maid in the Second Miss's courtyard that the Second Miss and Madam had a fight."
"It seems to be about money, and whether or not to get married..."
Qingxing, panting, reported the information she had gathered to Jiang Shuwan.
She spoke vaguely, but Jiang Shuwan knew what was going on.
It all boils down to the fact that Song Shi found out about Jiang Yao's arranged marriage, and Song Shi spent so much money bribing the groom of the Marquis's mansion and plotted for more than half a month.
The money was spent, but the matter wasn't resolved, and she even benefited from it. Song Shi must be unhappy.
"Who won the argument in the end?" Jiang Shuwan asked while drinking her soup.
"The second young lady has won. Madam said that since she only has one daughter, the second young lady is all that matters, as long as she is happy."
Jiang Shuwan nodded.
Song was a kind mother to Jiang Yao.
"But then they started arguing again. The second young lady said your arrogance wouldn't last long, and that you were going to have a really bad time..."
"When Madam didn't agree and said you were not someone to be trifled with, the Second Miss got angry and said that Madam was boosting the morale of others and diminishing her own..."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuwan paused for a second.
He then shook his head and chuckled softly.
Song still has some memory.
Her birth mother was Jiang's legal wife, who died shortly after her birth. She had no relatives and was left destitute.
In the first few years after Song was officially recognized as the wife, she found ways to deduct her food allowance and monthly allowance.
Other girls would have had to put up with it, but Jiang Shuwan, who wasn't even as tall as a table, went straight to her father to complain.
The first survival skill in the workplace is "to be adaptable to different people".
As the queen of all writers, Jiang Shuwan has a keen eye and can see through her opponent in just a few glances.
Once you understand what kind of person someone is, you'll know how to interact with them.
Different people require different ways of getting along; as long as you use the right approach, you can win over anyone.
Jiang's father was very easy to understand. He held a minor official position of the fifth rank in the Ministry of Rites, considered himself a member of the "pure stream" (a term referring to a group of people of integrity and upright character), and valued his reputation extremely highly.
Jiang Yao colluded with Song to deduct money from her and bully her. At that time, Jiang Shuwan was not even as tall as a table, so she directly complained to her father.
“Father, as the old saying goes, a gentleman cultivates virtue, manages his family, governs the state, and brings peace to the world. The same applies to being an official. How can one sweep the world if one cannot even sweep one’s own room?”
“My father indulges my mother and sister in bullying me like this. It doesn’t matter if I suffer a little grievance. After all, it’s just a few taels of silver and a few pieces of clothing.”
"But secrets don't stay hidden forever. If the censor hears something and reports it to the emperor, he might accuse Father of 'lax household management.' What should Father do then?"
With just these words, Song Shi and Jiang Yao were so humiliated that they couldn't get up.
In this world, the most admired way of governing the world and managing the family is to cultivate oneself, manage one's family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.
The newly appointed legal wife withholds food and jewelry from the children of the first wife. Can this be called managing a household properly?
How can someone who can't even support his own family have the audacity to become an official?
Why not go home and sell sweet potatoes!
The Jiang family had been farmers for generations, and after much effort, they had risen from the peasant class to the scholar class. How could they be willing to go back home and sell sweet potatoes?
Jiang's father was furious and severely punished Song.
Such things happened three or four more times afterward.
Every time, Song Shi and Jiang Yao tried to bully Jiang Shuwan, but ended up being dealt with by Jiang Shuwan instead.
This even led Jiang's father to believe that Song was incompetent and unable to manage the household, and he considered marrying another virtuous wife.
Fortunately, Jiang Yao proved herself worthy by copying two poems and becoming a famous talented woman in the capital, which saved Song from losing her hard-won position as the principal wife.
Although she retained her position as the principal wife, Madam Song was ultimately afraid and has not caused Jiang Shuwan any trouble in recent years.
While enjoying the gossip Qingxing had gathered, Jiang Shuwan ate several more pieces of duck meat.
Then they enjoyed two more comfortable days.
finally.
The Marquis of Wenyuan's family has sent someone to propose marriage.
The entire Jiang household was in an uproar.
"What? The Marquis's heir has come to propose marriage?"
"Are you sure it's the Marquis of Wenyuan's residence?"
"Is it the future heir to the Marquis's mansion? Or is it the eldest daughter of the mansion?"
"Are you kidding me? What kind of status does the young master have? Why would he marry a girl from our Jiang family as his wife?"
"If I were to marry, it would be the second young lady. She is a renowned talented woman in the capital. Her poem 'Spring Dawn' surpasses even those well-read ladies from noble families."
"The young lady is neither talented nor virtuous, how could the young master marry her?"
Not only the servants in the mansion thought so, but as the marriage was settled, the whole of the capital felt that this matter was too outrageous.
The topic was being discussed everywhere.
Have you heard that the heir of Marquis Wenyuan is going to marry the eldest daughter of the Jiang family?
"I've heard about it. It's quite a discrepancy. The two families are vastly different in status and background. Could the young master have had someone use witchcraft on him?"
"There's no such thing as witchcraft in this world. It's all just made up in storybooks to deceive people. But this marriage is really too outrageous."
"I wonder what's so special about Miss Jiang that caught the young master's eye. I heard that the Marquis's mansion hired an official matchmaker to propose marriage, which shows how much they value Miss Jiang."
"That Miss Jiang must have extraordinary abilities, otherwise why would the young master value her so much..."
Hearing these rumors, Jiang Shuwan almost died laughing.
In ordinary families, for weddings, they would simply ask a matchmaker to propose marriage and exchange betrothal gifts, and that would be considered to have fulfilled all the proper etiquette.
For a noble family like the Marquis's, who was extremely wealthy and powerful, sending an official matchmaker was merely the most basic courtesy.
To an uninformed person, it would seem as if the Marquis's mansion valued her highly and that she possessed extraordinary abilities...
She did nothing, yet everyone praised her to the skies?
Jiang Shuwan was both amused and exasperated.
Qingxing was also extremely shocked.
The young lady has reached marriageable age, but the madam is preoccupied with the second young lady and refuses to arrange a marriage for her.
Just a few days ago, she was worried about her young mistress's marriage, fearing that she wouldn't be able to find a good match.
Unexpectedly, within just a few days, the young lady and the heir of the Marquis's mansion became engaged.
That's the young master!
The future heir to the Marquis's mansion!
Moreover, the heir apparent was a child prodigy who passed the imperial examination at the age of ten and is currently studying at the Imperial Academy. He is already of age but does not even have a concubine.
Where can you find a marriage like this?
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