The General's Wife
After reading the letter, Shen Jin let Nanny Zhao and the others in, and moved some boxes and things in, the most important of which were the green-stem rice of Princess Rui and the clothes made by Concubine Chen.
After the servants moved the things into the house, they left, leaving only Zhao Ma and Anping as the servants.
"Madam Zhao, which one belongs to mother?" Shen Jin asked, looking at the pile of things big and small.
Nanny Zhao found the box with Concubine Chen's signature on it, and Shen Jin went over to open it.
What the mother-daughter connection said was true. Concubine Chen didn't have Shen Jin's size, but the summer clothes she made were exactly right. Not only that, she also made a lot of autumn and winter clothes, but those were a little bigger than the summer clothes. Even if Shen Jin grew taller, she would be able to wear them after some modifications next year.
Moreover, the styles made by Concubine Chen were not those popular in the capital, but more like those popular in the border town. However, the styles were more beautiful and novel. I don’t know how Concubine Chen knew this.
After Shen Jin finished reading, he asked An Ping to put it away carefully. The box of green stem rice was also brought in. There was a label on it. Shen Jin tore it open and found that the rice was in a bag. Shen Jin untied the bag and took out a handful of it. "We'll eat this tonight."
Madam Zhao smiled and said, "I will go and give instructions to the kitchen right away."
Shen Jin nodded, then rolled up her sleeves, revealing her fair arms. In fact, Shen Jin didn't look fat, and had a slender and well-proportioned figure. However, this was only an appearance. Chu Xiuming had held Shen Jin in his arms, so he knew very well that Shen Jin's body was actually soft and fleshy.
Her forearms were very beautiful, not skinny and bony, but round and smooth. Shen Jin put her hand into the rice bag and stirred it for a long time. Finally, she looked at Chu Xiuming with a confused look, "Is mother joking with me?"
Chu Xiuming raised his eyebrows and glanced at Shen Jin, who obediently gave up his seat. Chu Xiuming rolled up his sleeves and reached in. Not long after, he came out with a wooden box. He handed the box to Shen Jin and washed his hands in the copper basin beside him. "It's downstairs."
Although he only said three words, Shen Jin understood the meaning from Chu Xiuming's eyes and words. It was not that there was no one, but that her arms were too short to find it!
With an angry snort, Shen Jin placed the wooden box on the dressing table beside him. There was a small lock on it. "Where's the key?"
Chu Xiuming had already wiped his hands dry. Hearing this, he looked at Shen Jin and asked, "Ask me?"
"Yes." Shen Jin said as a matter of course.
Chu Xiuming thought for a moment and asked, "Find the box of jewelry that Princess Rui gave us." He said this to Nanny Zhao. He walked to Shen Jin and looked at the exquisite little lock with a plum blossom on it.
Shen Jin also leaned over to take a look, and even stretched out his hand to pull it twice. The lock looked very strong.
Nanny Zhao quickly found the jewelry box. Seeing Shen Jin still studying the small lock, Chu Xiuming opened the jewelry box himself. It was a three-layer jewelry box with a small drawer underneath.
Chu Xiuming looked through it carefully and found a pair of plum blossom-shaped earrings, then handed them to Shen Jin. Shen Jin took it and tried it and opened the lock in one go. Inside the wooden box was a stack of silver bills, some in whole and some in small. Shen Jin took them out and took a quick look and found that there were at least 500,000 taels. Her dowry was less than 100,000 taels in total.
Shen Jin was a little stunned, then looked at Chu Xiuming and then at the banknote, "Is this for me?"
Chu Xiuming did not expect Princess Rui to be so generous. Although he had some guesses after reading the letter, he did not confirm Princess Rui's attitude. He was afraid that the Rui Palace did not have so much money now. Although Prince Rui was rich, there were many things he could not touch, such as the manor bestowed by the emperor. Prince Rui could only collect rent every year, but did not have the right to sell them.
The rewards from the palace would not be directly given in silver. Chu Xiuming even suspected that Prince Rui was completely unaware of this money.
It's such a pity for a woman like Princess Rui to marry Prince Rui.
Shen Jin touched the banknotes, put them back into the wooden box, closed the box, locked it, and gave it to Chu Xiuming, saying, "Here you go. You have accepted the money from my mother, so you must be good to me."
Chu Xiuming also realized that the silver was given to him by Princess Rui through Shen Jin. He narrowed his eyes but accepted the box without saying anything.
Not only Princess Rui, but even Concubine Chen prepared something for Chu Xiuming. However, Princess Rui was different. Concubine Chen did it all for her daughter. She only wanted Chu Xiuming to be better to her daughter.
In the evening, Shen Jin did not eat the seafood she wanted, because these things needed to be prepared in advance, after all, they were all dry goods. However, the kitchen did prepare other things. Anyway, those things would be eaten sooner or later, so Shen Jin didn't care.
Because it was getting late and many things had not been packed up yet, Shen Jin had enough time to distribute the remaining things. When everything was in order the next day, Shen Jin began to distribute the things.
Not only Chu Xiuming and Chu Xiuyuan had things, but even Nanny Zhao, Anping, and Steward Wang who had a broken right arm had things. The servants in the mansion were seen running around with things in their arms, constantly taking things from Shen Jinyuan and delivering them to everyone.
Although Shen Jin was not extravagant, she was not stingy either. Even Butler Wang received a piece of imperial brocade, not to mention Anping and Madam Zhao. She even specially chose the colors that Anping and Madam Zhao liked as gifts.
After delivering the gifts, Shen Jin wanted to ask the second housekeeper some questions, but when the maid went there, she found out that the second housekeeper had been called away by Chu Xiuming. An Ping smiled and said, "Madam, if you want to know what's going on in the capital, why don't you ask me?"
"You know?" Shen Jin looked at Anping in surprise.
An Ping smiled and said, "These past few days, I have arranged for the little maids and servants to talk to those maids and servants from the capital, and I have learned a lot of information."
Nanny Zhao also knew about this matter, and it was her instigation. It seemed that the second steward did not say anything not because he could not, but because it was not easy to say it openly. Therefore, the maids and servants in the mansion found out all the news with a few tables of good wine and delicious food.
An Ping responded and started talking, "I heard that Madam's second sister married the eldest son of the Zheng family. The eldest son of the Zheng family is very well educated."
Shen Jin also knew that Shen Zi had married into the Zheng family. It was said that they were very noble and elegant. The eldest son of the Zheng family was an expert in poetry and songs, and many young ladies from wealthy families collected his poetry collections.
But Shen Zi's knowledge... Shen Jin and the others studied together at the beginning. Because they were close in age, the teacher taught them the same content. Although Shen Zi was not a talented woman, she was not illiterate. Even if she married into another family, she would be considered good. But the Zheng family...
Shen Jin couldn't imagine how Shen Zi would recite poems and write couplets with the eldest young master of the Zheng family every day.
An Ping said, "I heard that the eldest young master of the Zheng family likes beautiful women the most..." He didn't finish his words, "Madam's second sister was originally married as a princess, so it's inevitable... I heard that she cried and went to the palace to ask the prince for help."
Shen Jin asked, "Did the father show up?"
"That's not the case." An Ping said, "He stayed there for two or three days, and then the prince sent someone to send him back to the Zheng family."
Shen Jin thought that according to the character of Prince Rui, Concubine Xu and Shen Zi cried together, and it was afraid that Prince Rui would help Shen Zi. Could it be that he was stopped by Princess Rui? Thinking about it this way, it made sense, and he nodded and said, "What else?"
"I heard a maid scold the Yongle Marquis' son after getting drunk." An Ping knew that Shen Jin was more worried about Shen Qi, so she specifically asked about it and said, "She said that the Yongle Marquis' son looked good, but he was the worst bastard, and even the Yongle Marquis' wife was a traitor."
Shen Jin frowned and said, "It shouldn't be." She remembered that before her eldest sister got married, she lived a good life and had a very good relationship with her eldest brother-in-law. The wife of Marquis Yongle and Princess Rui knew each other, and the two were also good friends.
An Ping said, "I just heard that the prince of Yongle took a concubine not far from his wife's marriage. She is his childhood sweetheart and cousin."
Shen Jin frowned, "Is my elder sister not doing well? Has my brother-in-law treated her badly?"
Madam Zhao looked at Shen Jin and said, "Madam, you think too simply. It's not that the Yongle Marquis's son is bad, but he is too good. That's why Madam's eldest sister is not living well."
Shen Jin looked at Aunt Zhao, who said, "Anping, have you found out about your cousin's background?"
"I heard that she was the daughter of the concubine sister of the wife of Marquis Yongle. Things went badly at home and she had no other relatives, so she went to live with the wife of Marquis Yongle." Anping added.
Zhao Mama then said, "I think the prince is gentle to others, but this gentleness is not only to his wife. Although the wife of Yongle Marquis is a good friend of the princess, no matter how close they are, they are not as close as relatives, so it is inevitable that she is biased. Not only that, in the eyes of outsiders, the concubine is lonely and helpless, while the prince's wife is the legitimate daughter of the Rui King, has a distinguished family background, is a princess, and is the prince's principal wife. In comparison, it is inevitable that the concubine will feel a little pitiful."
Shen Jin pursed his lips tightly, and said after a long time, "I understand."
Although Nanny Zhao was sent by Chu Xiuming to serve Shen Jin, she had been with Shen Jin for a long time and had become more sincere to her. She said, "So Madam, sometimes you must not be soft-hearted. If the Crown Prince's Consort had been ruthless and directly gave silver to that cousin when she first came to Yongle Marquis's Mansion for help, there wouldn't have been so many problems."
Shen Jin asked, "Won't the Marquis's wife and the prince be angry?"
Aunt Zhao asked back, "Which is better, making others angry or making yourself angry?"
Shen Jin blinked, looked at Madam Zhao for a few times, nodded and said, "I see. By the way, does my husband have a cousin?"
Nanny Zhao said with a rare look of relief, "The general also has a distant cousin who came to seek refuge with the general when she had no relatives. Later..."
Shen Jin asked, "Have you left?"
"Yes." said Nanny Zhao.
Shen Jin nodded, "Then there's no need to mention her. Is there anything else?"
An Ping asked, "Madam, aren't you worried? That cousin is very beautiful."
"Because you all said it was at the beginning." Shen Jin felt that Zhao Ma and An Ping were a little inexplicable. "If there really was something at the beginning, it wouldn't be my turn to marry. With my husband's personality, if he really wanted to marry someone, would he have waited until the arranged marriage? Besides, there is no such person in the mansion. I think something must have happened. And this is the first time I heard someone mention it. I'm afraid it's not a good thing. In this case, there is no need to worry."
Nanny Zhao thought that maybe the Madam was a person who was truly wise but appeared foolish.
Shen Jin looked at the shocked Zhao Ma and An Ping, and said with a little complacency and pride, "I am very smart."
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