The day after the Lantern Festival, Zhang Gege received a reward from her wife.
Two bolts of brocade silk, twelve seasonal hairpins, a pair of silk bracelets, and a plate of butterfly pastries.
This reward made Zhang's heart pound; the Fujin (principal wife) had seen her!
She ate the butterfly cookies almost with tears in her eyes. It was the first time she had ever tasted such a fragrant and flaky pastry.
No matter, I can just cling to the Empress Dowager's coattails from now on.
Since Changning became a Fujin (principal wife), she didn't need them to pay their respects every day or perform morning and evening rituals because she had to take care of the children and liked to sleep in late. Why bother watching them bicker and nitpick every day? Wouldn't it be better to use that time to get some beauty sleep or read a book?
She doesn't want to waste time and energy on people or things that aren't worth it.
However, ever since she gave Zhang Gege a reward on the Lantern Festival, she has been going about her days like clocking in for work. In the morning, she sits in the outer room drinking tea, and is sent off by Chuixue after exchanging a few words with her. She does this every day without fail.
Granny Zhang laughed and said, "She's eager to be a helper to her master!"
Changning chuckled to himself, thinking that as long as he was a grateful and discerning person, that was good enough.
Zhang is indeed quite capable; if one truly wishes, promoting her would not be out of the question.
She looked around coldly and realized that, in the entire backyard, she was the only one who had never done anything out of line since she entered the manor.
Whether she was a genuinely aloof scholar or not, she was well-behaved and knew how to maintain her proper place, so she was willing to offer her some incentives.
She always needs someone to keep an eye on the mansion. Although there are many spies and many tricks up her sleeve, they are all at the servant level. At the master level, she also needs a confidant.
Song always had some ulterior motives for her daughter, Liu never hid her ambition and always relied on her seniority to act arrogantly, not to mention the others such as Geng, Wu, and Gao, who were lucky if they could even manage themselves.
Only Zhang's family member is somewhat usable.
Since gaining the favor of the Fujin (principal wife), Zhang Gege's treatment has improved dramatically. It's as if she suddenly had a breakthrough, as if she had been enlightened. Why did she keep trying to win over men before? She could achieve the same result by focusing on the mistress of the house.
From then on, she never hesitated to complete any task Changning assigned her, as if she had been injected with adrenaline, as if a discerning eye had finally recognized her talent.
Seeing her like this, Changning was also very satisfied.
Yinzhen laughed at her, saying that she had learned to be lazy and slack off now. Changning glared at him, turned over, and buried her head in her soft belly: "This is called enjoying life."
However, she didn't enjoy it for long, and soon she met the young lady from the Nian family.
Changning's second sister-in-law, Su Jia, gave birth to her third daughter.
Evergreen named her Lin Zhu.
This Erlinzhu looks just like his father. Changrong has a thick beard, and when he grins, he looks like a bandit from the mountains who has just kidnapped his wife.
Even at such a young age, Erlinzhu has such a demeanor.
Whenever she cries, her mouth twitches, and the wrinkles on her face all scrunch up, making her look remarkably like Chang Rong.
Su Jia never imagined that her words would come true, and she couldn't have been more regretful at the moment.
How will her youngest daughter find a husband in the future?!
Bodel and Sochoro expressed their helplessness, saying that their granddaughter's appearance reminded them of Changrong's rough appearance as a child—of course, without the beard.
Changrong was absolutely smitten, holding him in his arms and coaxing him every day. He even specially invited his comrades to come and show him off.
Chang Rong's second daughter, Ushiha, is still young, but she has a pair of dark eyes, like grapes. She dislikes her younger sister very much. She already dislikes her father Chang Rong's big beard and wrinkles, but when she found out that her little sister was born looking like that, she was so angry that she cried. It took Moyaqi a long time to comfort her.
Changning couldn't help but worry when he saw this.
Although she has a relatively open-minded view that girls don't need to be very beautiful, inner beauty is the most important thing.
But... won't a girl who looks like a rough man in his forties feel inferior in the future?
All she could do was think about giving her niece more beauty tips in the future, cultivating more refined interests and hobbies for her, and helping her discover other advantages besides her appearance.
Changning was coaxing her little niece when someone announced that a guest had arrived.
"We have guests today?" Changning was surprised by the sudden arrival and hadn't expected to be hosting guests at home today.
Dong Eshi, the eldest sister-in-law of Changning, smiled and said, "It's Madam Nian's family. They're coming to the capital at the end of the year. We ran into each other once before and agreed to have tea together today. Would you like to meet them?"
Nianfu?
Changning wouldn't bother with ordinary guests, but if it was someone from the Nian family, she really wanted to meet them.
"Is she a lady of advanced age?"
Dong E nodded: "That's right."
The visitor said that in addition to Madam Nian, he had also brought a young lady.
Changning's expression became somewhat subtle.
When Changning arrived at the flower hall, she saw a well-dressed woman leading the way. She had her hair neatly styled in a bun, a gentle expression, and spoke in a calm and unhurried manner, which made Changning feel quite favorable towards her.
Behind her was a slender girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old.
With her graceful figure, exquisite features, delicate face, and elegant posture, she was as pleasing to the eye as a white magnolia simply by standing there.
It's a really nice color.
In this Miss Nian's eyes, it was as if she saw a rose in its most beautiful and vibrant state. Putting aside her facial features, just looking at this wife of Prince Yong, she exuded an undeniable charm that drew people's attention and made it impossible to look away.
I had long heard of the great name of the eldest daughter of the Fucha family. She married the Fourth Prince as a concubine, and now she has transformed into the primary consort. For more than ten years since entering the mansion, she has been the sole favorite of the prince, and all her children are hers. This has made Prince Yong so devoted to her that he cannot live without her. His heart has long been captured by her, and even now, some of their stories are still circulating in the capital.
The two had long been acquainted with each other, and when they glanced at each other, Miss Nian lowered her eyes first and followed behind the lady, not daring to look again.
She is a quiet and elegant person.
Changning secretly observed her; she really wasn't the fiery type.
She looks like an extremely gentle and understanding flower.
Madam Nian led her daughter to greet Changning, who didn't put on airs: "Please sit down, Madam."
Lady Dong'e ordered tea and snacks to be served, and then held Miss Nian's hand and praised her: "No wonder Madam Nian often said that her daughter is a treasure and that she is not good to show her to others. Now that I have seen her, it is indeed true."
Madam Nian acted with great poise: "My daughter is frail and doesn't like to be seen by people. She has always admired your family's interactions with her, so I brought her here today to broaden her horizons."
Changning looked at this Miss Nian with considerable admiration and asked, "May I ask Miss Nian's name?"
Madam Nian glanced back at her daughter before answering for her, "Your Highness, my daughter's name is Zhiyi."
Changning nodded. Nianzhiyi's name sounded gentle and elegant.
It's just unknown what the purpose of the mother and daughter's visit to the Fucha residence was.
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