Chapter 93 Regretfully Turning Back, Jiang Zhenniang and Madam Lü Complained About Their Daughter...
Turning back, Jiang Zhenniang and Madam Lü were still complaining about their daughter's views on choosing a husband. Unexpectedly, Madam Lü praised her highly and then sighed, "In the past, I thought my son would be successful, but now..."
That day, Madam Lü confronted Yao Lang, intending to bring the matter to a head. It turned out that Yao Lang had some spare money, and with Madam Lü's pregnancy becoming increasingly difficult, he wasn't watching her as closely as before, so he secretly went to such places.
Such things are all too common nowadays.
Lady Lü turned a blind eye, pretending not to know anything. Little did she know that Yao Lang was going too far and actually had the idea of buying a young maid. If it weren't for a familiar woman telling her, she wouldn't have known that Yao Lang was saying it was for her sake, but in reality, it was truly for her sake!
"Looking back now, it's better to be poor," said Madam Lü, tears welling in her eyes. She had been married to Yao Lang for several years without bearing him any children. Yao's family had tried to force him to divorce her, but he had always refused.
But now, even though the couple initially did it all for the child in her womb, before the child was even born, Yao Lang had other ideas.
The gains and losses only brought sorrow to Lady Lü.
Seeing that Madam Lü was like this, Jiang Zhenniang comforted her for a while, and then turned to Yao Lang and gave him some words of advice as well.
When she got home, she felt melancholy for a moment, but then realized that her daughter was the one who understood.
Those who are rich and powerful, how could they possibly control them? It's not as Su Zhihan said, that it would be fine to find someone who is pretty, honest, and weak.
After that, Jiang Zhenniang never mentioned the matter again, and she would not answer any questions from others about her daughter's marriage.
Of course, Su Zhihan's marriage is one thing, and Su Lifeng and Zhenzhu's marriage is another.
Fearing something might go wrong, Jiang Zhenniang sent a letter well in advance after the New Year, and dressed up nicely before going to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence.
When the eldest daughter-in-law saw her, she was quite happy and said reproachfully, "Last time I asked Zhenniang to come to my house often after she left the mansion, but I never expected that you would not come after leaving."
"You've been so kind to me, Madam. I shouldn't bother you so often." Jiang Zhenniang smiled as she handed over the food box, adding, "Please try this, Madam. This is a dish made by my daughter Han."
The eldest daughter-in-law was not surprised when she heard this. After hearing that Jiang Zhenniang was going to visit, she sent someone to inquire about it. It was said that the mother and daughter not only opened a shop and their business was quite prosperous, but the girl who used to work in their own kitchen had also become a well-known cook in the capital. On the contrary, she had not heard any news about her eldest son.
The old lady pondered silently, but outwardly accepted the food box politely and handed it to her mother, indicating that she should heat it up so she could try it later.
After a few casual words, Jiang Zhenniang got down to business, saying that although her eldest son was still on the frontier and had not yet returned, he was of marriageable age, and she, as his mother, wanted to find him a suitable marriage.
Upon hearing this, the eldest daughter-in-law suddenly realized that Jiang Zhenniang must be of humble origin and had difficulty finding a good marriage for her son, which was why she had come to her for help.
"That's a good thing."
"However, I haven't met your son yet, and I don't know what kind of person he is." The old lady paused, then asked, "What rank is he now in the frontier? What kind of family are you looking for?"
"Thank you for your kind words, Madam. My son's name is Lifeng. He is currently a deputy commander in the army, a seventh-rank official." As soon as Jiang Zhenniang said this, Madam's eyes lit up.
She casually mentioned the sixth-rank official that day to save face for Jiang Zhenniang. Now, hearing Jiang Zhenniang say that her son is already a seventh-rank official, he might actually become a sixth-rank official when he returns to the capital. Moreover, he is still young, and he might even be able to rise to another rank in the future.
Look at Erlang, even at this age, he still benefits from his family's influence and the third brother's advantage, which is why he was promoted to the fifth rank.
The eldest lady's brows relaxed, and she considered several ideas in her mind, quickly coming up with a suitable candidate. However, before she could speak, Jiang Zhenniang said shyly, "I've come to ask for your help because I've learned that Pearl seems to be looking for a husband. I'd like to ask you to speak up and let that girl marry my son."
"Pearls?" Not only was the eldest lady stunned, but the maids and servants around her were also shocked.
Just as mentioned a few days ago, Pearl's life was getting worse day by day. In the past, Chang-ge'er would mention it a couple of times, but after two proper young ladies and several new-looking maids came into the house, he stopped bringing it up.
As the saying goes, a fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken, not to mention that the pearl hadn't even become a phoenix in the first place.
The Marquis's mansion is always full of people who fawn over the powerful and bully the weak. Now that Pearl has fallen from grace, countless people have come to her side to make sarcastic remarks, and even Yinghong has been subjected to a lot of difficulties.
Unexpectedly, Pearl encountered great fortune in just a few days! A seventh-rank military officer, she might become a sixth-rank official in the future. The second lady held this title for more than ten years.
The maids inside the room had complicated expressions. They were willing to become concubines in the master's household, but how many people in the entire Marquis's mansion could actually become such a person?
The remaining maids were either given to other officials as concubines, or, occasionally, were granted the privilege of being married off, mostly to scholars or officials of the eighth or ninth rank. The majority of the remaining maids were assigned to servants, resulting in a number of children born into the household.
The wife of a sixth-rank official.
The wife of a sixth-rank official!
Once the eldest daughter-in-law agreed, the news spread quickly. Qiuyue and Sulan, upon hearing this, went to Yinghong to inquire, and were immediately astonished upon learning it was true: "That means, Yinghong, you and Han'er will be relatives from now on!"
Yinghong was overjoyed when she saw that the matter was settled. She put down her work, washed her hands, and nodded to the two of them: "Yes."
"Jiang Niangzi's sudden suggestion really startled my parents."
"This is wonderful..."
"We were worried about Pearl before, but now we don't have to worry anymore."
"But if your sister goes out, what about you and your parents?" Qiuyue suddenly brought up this matter.
Yinghong didn't know anything about this either, and just followed the family's arrangements.
Over there, Xiao Hong listened to their conversation and couldn't help but frown.
A sixth-rank official? Madam Jiang? Sister Han? How are these words connected? She wanted to find out more, but the maids of similar age in the main kitchen either ignored her or were not familiar with Yinghong and the others, and did not know what was going on outside.
Filled with doubt, Xiaohong finished her chores, picked up a few leftovers, and headed home. She entered the servants' quarters, but once she reached her own door, she forgot all about the incident, frowning and pinching her nose, sullenly saying, "Grandpa, Grandma, I told you the house smelled..."
The two of them did a terrible job, and no matter how clean they were, they gradually developed an odor.
In addition, the group had exhausted their family fortune to enter the Marquis's mansion, and their lives were extremely difficult.
Not to mention that Xiao Hong's monthly salary was taken away by Chef Xu, while Old Man Hu and Granny Chen, as the lowest-level servants, received pitifully small monthly salaries and had to give some to their superiors. It took them several months to barely scrape together a few pieces of old furniture to make ends meet.
To this day, let alone buying bath beans or other items, they don't even have the money to buy a bath tub. They make do with what the Marquis's mansion provides for their daily food and drink.
"How come I can't smell it?" Exhausted from working every day, Granny Chen was no longer the wealthy lady she had just arrived in. Her cheeks were sunken, her eyebrows were furrowed, and she was no longer as kind to Xiao Hong as before.
"You haven't changed your clothes for three or five days, have you?" Xiao Hong asked, holding her breath.
"You only have those two outfits. If I need to change, what will I wear? You keep complaining, but you don't even know to ask Chef Xu for more money to buy some things for the house."
"I became an apprentice, so the money should have gone to Chef Xu..." Xiao Hong felt wronged. Her days in the main kitchen were not easy either, and she had to listen to their complaints when she got home: "I know you regret it, but it wasn't me who said I was going to come to the mansion."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If it weren't for you, why would I have spent so much money!"
A moment later, the room became noisy again.
Wang Pozi's family was used to such things, but having learned from past experience, they didn't go to watch the excitement. Instead, they stayed inside and listened to the commotion, waiting until the next day to gossip about it to others.
Jiang Zhenniang was overjoyed to have received the eldest daughter-in-law's approval, and immediately told Su Zhihan about it.
She first wrote a letter to her son who was far away on the frontier, and then she began to think about the betrothal gifts.
This was something that even Jiang Zhenniang, let alone Su Zhihan, had no experience with. She wrote down a lot of information, but something still seemed off, and after thinking for a long time, she still couldn't come up with a solution.
"Why don't we ask a matchmaker to come and inquire tomorrow?"
“Yes, yes… I was the one who was confused. This matter should be handled by a matchmaker.” Jiang Zhenniang suddenly realized, and the next day she went to the market to hire a top-notch matchmaker.
At the matchmaker's suggestion, Jiang Zhenniang finalized the betrothal gift list and quickly sent it to the relevant offices. The whole process took nearly a month and was not completed until mid-February.
Jiang Zhenniang then asked someone to determine an auspicious date and time before sending the betrothal gifts to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence.
When the eldest daughter-in-law learned that the betrothal gifts had been delivered, she specially sent someone to inquire about the list of betrothal gifts.
When the list was delivered, she glanced at it and smiled. The betrothal gifts were certainly not comparable to those for Chang Ge'er's betrothal, but for an ordinary sixth or seventh-rank official in the capital, they were quite generous.
"It seems that Madam Jiang is only giving Pearl Miss face because of Madam's status."
"He's quite thoughtful."
“Take the jewelry I prepared last time and use it to adorn Pearl. She has served Chang-ge’er for many years, so she has at least worked hard, even if she hasn’t done anything particularly meritorious.”
"My wife is kind and generous."
"Alright, alright, you guys go to the servants' quarters in the back and join in the fun."
"Thank you, Madam Xie." Madam Li smiled and withdrew. They were also curious and went over to take a look. They saw that there were many chests and boxes in Pearl's courtyard, which looked quite respectable.
In the center was a complete set of fashionable gold headdresses, along with other styles of gold and silver headdresses, gold and silver ingots, and various kinds of silks and satins. Even utensils and utensils were all available. The courtyard was glittering with gold, making one's eyes almost bleed.
"Last time, when Madam Xu hired Baoxun, all she gave was a silver headdress, two gold hairpins, two sets of fine clothes, and some food and drinks..."
"He really is just a seventh-rank official..."
"I heard that the shop owned by Madam Jiang's family is doing very well and making a lot of money!"
"Pearl, you're going to enjoy a life of happiness from now on."
"From now on, she will be a proper official's wife. Tsk tsk, sigh, I really didn't expect that."
"That's great!"
Congratulations!
Upon hearing the news, Xiao Hong rushed over and squeezed through the crowd to see what was happening. She was utterly shocked, and when she saw the betrothal gifts inside, she was even more stunned. She never imagined that Madam Jiang would have so much money to prepare such a betrothal gift!
She knew that the Jiang family's braised meat shop was doing well and that Han Jie'er had excellent skills, but she felt that if Han Jie'er could do it, so could she. That's why she tacitly allowed her grandmother to spend money to send her into the Marquis's mansion.
Unexpectedly, life in the manor was so difficult. Not only did she fail to become the head cook, but she was still only an apprentice, and her monthly salary was pitifully small, which she had to hand over in full.
In the past, when she was out in the world, she had nice clothes given to her by Han-jie and jewelry made by her family, but now she has nothing left.
Looking at the betrothal gifts ahead, Xiaohong felt a surge of regret deep in her heart. The emotion grew stronger and stronger, engulfing her completely, and she walked out dejectedly.
After walking a few steps, she noticed someone behind her.
Xiao Hong turned around and saw that Granny Chen and Old Man Hu also looked unwell.
The family of three looked at each other blankly for a long time before silently walking back to their home. Looking at the dilapidated walls, the worn-out furniture, and the pitiful belongings, Granny Chen finally pounded her chest in frustration: "What have I done..."
Outside, there was a cacophony of laughter and chatter, but inside Granny Chen's house, only sobs and countless sighs could be heard.
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