As they had guessed, the three women—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—had only been there for two days when Xichun's aunt, whom she had never met before, returned home.
"Changjin's wife, Changfeng's wife, this is your aunt. Her family lives in another city and it's rare for them to come here. You should have a good talk with her." Lu Qiuqin and Xichun were serving the old lady. Although they were called serving, there were maids around, and their main role was to keep her company.
"Greetings, Aunt. I've heard of you before, but this is the first time I've met you. It should be us younger generation who pay our respects to you, not you who should come to see us." The two bowed to their newly acquainted aunt.
"Hehe, Third Sister-in-law is so lucky to have two such good daughters-in-law, and both of her sons are so successful. I'm so envious." The aunt smiled and held the hands of her two nieces-in-law, as if they had been close friends since they first met.
"Sister, you're joking. I've heard that your children are all quite good. It's a pity I didn't have a daughter. Fortunately, I have two filial daughters-in-law, otherwise I would be the one envying you."
Madam Fu also said something with a dry laugh.
The group exchanged pleasantries with the old lady. Today, the eldest and second aunts were able to take a break and relax a bit. There were still so many things to take care of at home, and the old lady had kept them too busy to deal with them.
"Mother, I think Aunt is only back this time to curry favor with Changfeng's wife, which makes us seem like we're not the masters of the house." The eldest aunt's daughter-in-law felt a little unbalanced. This aunt used to only visit them, but now she's rushing to curry favor with Changfeng's wife, while she, the eldest daughter-in-law, isn't being taken seriously.
"She really thinks that if she says a few nice words, Chen Xichun will agree to her request. Who is Chen Xichun? He was someone who dared to disrespect even the old lady back then. Just you wait and see, it will only backfire. Ever since your third uncle's family became successful, everyone wants to curry favor with them, but what benefits have they given her? She's so happy to be a mere clerk. She's a fool."
The eldest aunt was unhappy. She thought about the way her fifth brother's wife and her family acted. Ever since her son became a clerk in the prefectural city, they dared to look down on them. Anyone who didn't know better would think they had become some kind of high-ranking official.
“But Auntie’s family is indeed in the upper hand right now. If others get all the benefits, what good will it do for our family? I think it would be better to have Father-in-law talk to the old lady, and have Auntie talk to Cousin Changfeng, and also make some arrangements for my husband?”
"Do you think I don't want to? But back then, our branch of the family bullied the third branch so much. Don't think the third branch is made of clay. Look at what happened to your second uncle and the others last time. They had to hide at home with their tails between their legs. This time we need to plan carefully. Fortunately, they will be staying here for a while. Just you wait, we will make them give our family some benefits."
Auntie was probably planning something, but seeing that her mother-in-law had a plan, she felt relieved.
Xi Chun noticed that the maids and servants in the courtyard had been very enthusiastic these past few days. Even her cousins had come to chat with her, their words all flattering Xi Chun without mentioning any requests of their own, just trying to get close to her.
“These are specialties from our Danzhou. Your aunt doesn’t have anything worth showing off, so please don’t look down on them.” The aunt opened two brocade boxes, inside which were two jade bracelets. Danzhou does produce jade, but the two felt that they were too precious when their aunt brought them out.
"Elder sister, this is far too valuable. How can they accept it? You should take it back quickly. It's good to keep it for your granddaughter-in-law later." Seeing how generous she was, Old Madam Fu also refused on behalf of Lu Qiuqin and Xichun.
"This is not expensive at all, it's just local specialty. As your aunt, I didn't give you any gifts when we first met, and now I feel embarrassed to see you two nieces-in-law. This is just a small token of my appreciation."
“Aunt, this thing is indeed valuable, and we really can’t accept it. My husband told me before that he has worked hard to get to where he is today, and he needs to be careful with his words and actions. He said that he can’t accept anything involving valuable items unless he agrees to it. Otherwise, even if it’s a relative, we are afraid that someone with ulterior motives will sue us and we won’t be able to explain ourselves. Aunt, please don’t make things difficult for me. Just put your nephew at ease.”
Xi Chun estimated that such a bracelet would sell for several hundred taels of silver outside. However, her uncle was from an ordinary family, and even if he became a county magistrate, the sum of nearly a thousand taels was not a small amount. Xi Chun was afraid that giving it away would be too much for him, so she used Fu Changfeng as an excuse.
"Yes, elder sister, Changfeng has finally made it to the capital. The people in the capital are watching him very closely. If anything goes wrong, he might be an official today and a criminal tomorrow. We all know that you, as his aunt, are doing this for your nephew's good, but those who don't know might start making up stories about what you want Changfeng to do for you. How can we stop them from talking like that?"
Madam Fu was well aware of the impact her actions would have on her son; the more valuable the gift, the greater the favor she would have to do, so she was naturally unwilling.
“Is that so? I’m just a woman. Your uncle makes all the decisions outside. I really didn’t know it would be like this. It’s just my way of showing my appreciation as your aunt. But if it really puts Changfeng in a difficult position, I’ll send him something more suitable another day.”
Upon hearing this, she knew that the gift would not be delivered today. They were directly refusing to do anything for her family. Aunt Fu's face turned somewhat ugly.
The old lady woke up at just the right moment: "You're all still here, what are you talking about?"
"Mother, she didn't say anything, just chatted with my third sister-in-law and a few nieces-in-law. You're awake, would you like some water?" Aunt Fu asked someone to put the box away and went to the old lady's side to ease the awkwardness.
"Okay, you all go back and rest. I want to talk to your aunt."
After the three of them left, the old lady said, "You were too hasty. That family is like a rock in a latrine, they won't listen to reason. If it weren't for Changfeng becoming somewhat successful these days, I really wouldn't want to see them at all. They're just here to cause trouble."
“Mother, you shouldn’t say that in front of them. My third brother was still bothered by you and my eldest brother, and by my second brother’s refusal to let him move his mother into the ancestral grave. If you ask me, it’s just a matter of the location of the ancestral grave. You shouldn’t have made things so tense with them in the first place, which has led to the fact that you can’t even have a proper conversation with them now.”
"Who knew Wen Tiantian would have such good fortune? Look at the kind of daughter-in-law they married! A farmer's daughter who's said to bring bad luck to her father has married into the family. Now even I have to fawn over her. If I had known, I would have married your daughter into that family. Would they still give us face now?"
"Mother, why are you saying all this? Juan'er is a mother now. What kind of girl would be so eager to marry someone?" Aunt Fu was actually a little regretful. Her eldest brother had brought it up before, but they hadn't agreed. What was the use of regretting it now?
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