Jiang Ling was practically a household name in the county, and the owner of the Ni Chang Pavilion had naturally heard of her. When he saw her walking in from outside, he greeted her warmly.
"My lady! Hello!" The owner of the Ni Chang Pavilion greeted her hurriedly.
Jiang Ling nodded. "No need for formalities! Just call me Yaojie's mother!"
Jiang Ling had never liked this sense of class distinctions, so she quickly told the boss not to be so polite.
The shopkeeper looked at Jiang Ling with some curiosity and tentatively asked, "An... Yaojie's mother, do you need my help to make a recommendation?"
Jiang Ling nodded, thought for a moment about Shen Congxin's height and appearance, and said, "I want to buy two outfits for my daughter-in-law. The fabric must be the best. She's about this tall... and has very fair skin."
As she spoke, Jiang Ling began to gesture to the boss, showing off Chen Congxin's physique.
The shop owner nodded and smiled, saying, "Your daughter-in-law is so lucky to have a mother-in-law like you, Yaojie's mother. Please come upstairs with me!"
As he spoke, the boss led Jiang Ling upstairs to the second floor.
As soon as Jiang Ling came up, she saw a lot of exquisitely designed ready-made clothes hanging on the second floor. The materials of these clothes looked better than those downstairs.
"How about this one? This is a new style we saw!" The shopkeeper held up a light purple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) in front of Jiang Ling.
It is embroidered with orchids, which looks particularly elegant.
Jiang Ling reached out and touched the fabric. The quality seemed good. She nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Are there any other styles?"
At first, the shopkeeper thought Jiang Ling wasn't satisfied with the item and was about to hang it back up when Jiang Ling interrupted, saying, "Don't accept it! I want this one. Can you recommend another one to me?"
The shopkeeper was somewhat surprised, as just one piece of clothing would cost at least forty taels of silver, but then he thought of Jiang Ling's identity, and his mood gradually calmed down.
She nodded and carefully put the dress away, then took a pale yellow long gown.
"Okay, these two items will do. How much silver is it in total?" Jiang Ling nodded in satisfaction, signaling the shopkeeper to carefully pack the two items.
"A total of...a total of one hundred taels of silver!" the shopkeeper said tentatively to Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling didn't say anything. She took out a silver note from her pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper. She then took two already packed clothes and left the Ni Chang Pavilion.
The shopping spree helped Jiang Ling feel a bit better, and she hummed a little tune as she walked towards her family's carriage.
Jiang Shan had already bought the things and was leaning against the carriage waiting for Jiang Ling to return.
Seeing Jiang Ling carrying a bunch of things in large and small bags, Jiang Shan quickly got off the carriage and ran over to her.
"Give me the things, Anren! Don't tire yourself out!" Jiang Shan took the things from Jiang Ling's hands.
Jiang Ling did not refuse, nodded and followed behind Jiang Shan, sitting in the carriage.
When I got home, the setting sun had already painted everything on the horizon red.
Upon learning that her daughter had given birth, Shen Qianhe rushed over at top speed.
Looking at her daughter's pale face, she felt so heartbroken that she almost cried.
"From the heart! Why so suddenly?" Shen Qianhe asked, holding his granddaughter in his arms with a face full of affection.
“This…” Shen Congxin didn’t know how to answer, so she could only look at Granny Mei, who had just finished taking her pulse.
Granny Mei was a shrewd woman. She stepped forward and said, "Sir, childbirth is always sudden for women!"
Shen Qianhe was a very easygoing person, and since Granny Mei was sent by the Emperor to serve Jiang Ling, Shen Qianhe naturally didn't think much of it.
Jiang Yaojie stayed by Shen Congxin's side without leaving her side, afraid that something might happen to her.
When Jiang Ling returned home, she found the house much more lively. She quickly walked to the bedroom and immediately saw Shen Qianhe teasing her granddaughter with silver notes.
"Mother..." Shen Congxin lay on the bed, trying to struggle to get up.
Seeing this, Jiang Ling quickly said, "Don't get up! Don't get up, just lie there obediently! Look what Mom bought for you!"
As she spoke, Jiang Ling brought all the things she had bought to Shen Congxin.
"Mother... what's wrong?" Shen Congxin looked at Jiang Ling with some surprise.
Then her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
"Mother... I'm so sorry, you didn't give us a son, you didn't leave us an heir!"
Jiang Ling quickly covered Shen Congxin's mouth and said, "Congxin, you can't have such thoughts. Our family has always believed in gender equality. What's with all this talk about sons? As long as you and your daughter are safe and sound, that's all that matters!" After saying that, Jiang Ling kept giving Jiang Yaojie meaningful glances.
"Yes, my dear wife, don't overthink it! Trust me, I love both my daughter and my son!" Jiang Yaojie quickly continued to comfort Jiang Ling after seeing her expression.
Jiang Ling immediately took out a gold hairpin and a gold bracelet from her bosom and placed them in front of Shen Congxin. "Congxin, you are now a great contributor to our family! You must keep these gold hairpin and gold bracelet safe!"
Then Jiang Ling brought over two more pieces of clothing: "We'll wear these two pieces of clothing when you finish your postpartum confinement!"
Seeing the generous gift Jiang Ling had prepared for her, Shen Congxin felt even more guilty. She bit her lip, unsure of what to say.
Jiang Ling saw through Shen Congxin's thoughts and continued to comfort her, "Congxin, you can't overthink it. Look at your eldest sister and second sister's mother, who has mistreated you! What do you mean by not leaving an heir for our family! A daughter is just as good as a son, and besides, you're still young. You can't think like that!"
After Jiang Ling finished speaking, she quickly looked at Shen Qianhe beside her. She saw that Shen Qianhe was still playing with his granddaughter. Jiang Ling walked to Shen Qianhe's side with some helplessness and said, "In-law, you should comfort Congxin too. After all, she is your daughter!"
“Yes! From the heart, your mother-in-law is right! Don’t have that kind of idea. Your father was thinking of giving you all the business in a few years!” Shen Qianhe said while holding the child.
After everyone comforted her, Shen Congxin's mood finally improved.
Jiang Ling looked at Shen Congxin in front of her and felt inexplicably worried.
As night fell, Jiang Ling and Jiang Yaojie had a long, heart-to-heart talk that they hadn't had in a long time. Jiang Ling tried everything she could to finally make Jiang Yaojie understand the meaning of "postpartum depression."
Jiang Yaojie scratched his head and looked at Jiang Ling, saying, "Mother, so you mean I unconditionally support Congxin, right?"
Jiang Ling nodded and continued, "Yes, Cong Xin's personality might become very strange during this time. In short, you must not make her angry, understand?"
"She gave birth to the Jiang family bloodline for us, which is already very great!"
"I know, Mother. I will take good care of Congxin!" Jiang Yaojie tried his best to remember every word Jiang Ling said.
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Ling gradually forgot about the incident in Wangjia Village.
Early this morning, Jiang Ling had just finished tidying up the house when she heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar.
Before Jiang Ling could open the door to check, Jiang He rushed in.
"My lady, Magistrate Duan has arrived!"
These words brought Jiang Ling back to a week ago, when she angrily threw the broom next to the woodpile and walked toward the front door with a stern face.
"Such a big thing happened, why didn't you send anyone to tell me!" Magistrate Duan asked Jiang Ling anxiously as he pushed open the door.
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