Chapter 001 Chapter 1

It was hot in July. It had rained a few days ago, but now it was scorching hot without a breeze. Under the scorching sun, even the vendors' calls had died down. A few cicadas were resting on the leaves of the green tent, making cicada chirps from time to time.

At this time, a carriage appeared around Donghua Lane. A woman wearing a veil, about forty years old, dressed in blue silk with a red belt, and a gold hairpin in her hair got off the carriage. She looked very respectable.

From time to time, she walked into Donghua Lane and knocked on the door of the third house.

The person who opened the door smiled and said, "It turns out to be Zhuang Matchmaker."

Matchmaker Zhuang smiled and said, "It's me, the old lady. Is your wife at home? I just came out of the Yan family in Xinghuafang. I happened to be asked by the third old lady of the Yan family to come to your house to have good news."

The servants at the door had been instructed to welcome Matchmaker Zhuang in and lead her through two hanging flower gates. Matchmaker Zhuang secretly sized up the Guan family and concluded that they were worthy of the reputation of "the Emperor of the Zhu Family and the Prime Minister of the Guan Family". Even such a wealthy family seemed so simple and unsophisticated, without the extravagant lifestyle of the times.

Entering the small hall, I saw a lady in her forties sitting at the top. She had a long face, a straight nose, and slightly pursed lips. Even in such a hot summer, she was wearing a lilac-colored silk jacket with a crane pattern that was not worn at all.

Matchmaker Zhuang accompanied her and said carefully, "Madam Scholar, I greet you."

Mrs. Guan smiled slightly on her serious face: "Aunt Zhuang, you are welcome."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and the matchmaker explained her purpose: "I am entrusted by the Yan family to come and find a marriage for our young lady. The eldest son of our Yan family is fifteen years old this year. Not only is he handsome, but he is also elegant and talented. He has already entered school..."

Listening to the matchmaker's chatter, Mrs. Guan knew very well that the matchmaker was just going through the motions. When wealthy families arranged marriages, both parties would secretly get to know each other before hiring a matchmaker, so there was no need to worry about anything going wrong.

Her father-in-law was a prime minister, her husband was a Hanlin scholar, and the Yan family was not bad. The grandfather of the eldest son of the Yan family was the Left Governor of Henan, and his father was the Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites. The only flaw was that the father of the eldest son of the Yan family was the heir to two houses, and his mother, Xie, was not the principal wife. However, on second thought, this was also good, Xie was still in charge of the third house, but she was not in the right position, and her daughter would be the head of the family when she got married in the future.

…

In the morning, when the sky was just beginning to brighten and the heat had not yet intensified, it was the coolest time of the day. The nymphs on the wall were in full bloom, opening in the dew, revealing their red, peach, purple, blue and white colors, but such flowers would wither at noon.

The servant who brought the ice had no time to appreciate the scenery. He lowered his head and walked along the flower-shaded path, gradually entering the depths of the forest. The dense leaves blocked out the sunlight. Occasionally he looked up and saw the Jiangxuexuan hidden in the green trees. It was right in front of him, with its green bricks, black tiles, carved railings and jade bricks. It was elegant and had a sense of wealth and grace.

Two maids wearing white and green embroidered bamboo leaf and plum blossom collars came out from the inner room. They took the ice basin. The curtain maid lifted the Xiangfei bamboo curtains. The windows inside were covered with green gauze, which made the windows look brighter and cleaner. From the main hall, we went to the north room. The north room was slightly smaller and was where the owner lived. Passing the gilded standing screen with magnolia and parrots, we saw a young woman sitting by the nanmu bed, doing needlework in the bright light.

She was wearing a light-colored shirt with gold flowers on it. Her dark hair was tied up in a loose bun with only a silver pin inserted diagonally. Such a simple outfit made her eyes sparkle and her features shine. This woman was Xie, the second wife of Yan Yingqi, the Vice Minister of Rites of Nanjing.

Xie is already 31 years old this year, but she still looks stunningly beautiful.

At this moment, she raised her eyes to look at the sun, and hurriedly got up to roll up the Haitangchun sleeping curtain with a silver hook, and hurriedly called the sleeping girl: "Third sister, it's time to get up. You have to go to school today. Mr. Yu is waiting for you."

When she heard the name "Mr. Yu", Yao Niang sat up quickly. She hugged Xie's arm and said, "Mother, when I was in the northwest, no matter how hot it was during the day, it was very cool at night. Jinling is really too hot. Yesterday, my daughter slept like a pancake."

Xie touched her daughter's head lovingly and said, "You live farther away than your second and fourth sisters, so you have to get up earlier."

The little lady sighed: "Okay, my daughter will get up now."

The Jinling Yan family had three branches, all living together. The eldest and third branches were both legitimate children of the same mother, while the second branch was a concubine's. The eldest branch's wife, Madam Yu, gave birth to a son, the second branch gave birth to three sons, both legitimate and concubine's, but the third branch had no sons. According to the rules, the third branch should have inherited the second branch's child or selected a boy from the side branch to inherit.

However, both the first and third wives were unwilling to see their power and wealth fall into the hands of outsiders, so they let the eldest son of the first wife, Yan Yingqi, inherit both wives. The first wife first chose Princess Linzi, the daughter of Prince Qi, as a wife for Yan Yingqi, while the third wife, Madam Quan, chose her cousin, the daughter of the Jie family in Dongshan.

Princess Linzi and Xie entered the palace on the same day. Xie was very proud and became pregnant soon after entering the palace and gave birth to the eldest son Yan Jingzhao. Princess Linzi gave birth to a daughter a few years later. During the years when the princess had been silent, the first wife was anxious and took in her distant relative, Aunt Yin, as a concubine for the old man.

Aunt Yin was very popular and had a very good ovulation. She gave birth to a son as soon as she got married. Later, after the princess died, she gave birth to a daughter.

Later, when Princess Linzi died, her former concubine, Xie, did not become the real lady in name only. Instead, Yan Yingqi remarried the daughter of Zhongshan Wuji Zhen. After Zhen came into the family, she gave birth to sons and daughters one after another, and also married her eldest maid, who is now the favored Aunt Feng. Aunt Feng also gave birth to a little son.

The Zhen family was strong and powerful, and they all quickly established themselves. However, after giving birth to the eldest son, Xie gave birth to a son and a daughter in succession, but they all died in infancy. Finally, she gave birth to a little daughter, Yao Niang, and raised her carefully. There was even a fortune teller who said that she had a noble destiny and would be blessed with both wisdom and fortune in the future.

Because of these special relationships, Yan Yingqi usually lived in the long house, and his wife, concubine Zhen and two concubines also lived in the long house. Xie lived in the third house with her children, and usually served the third old lady.

This is why Xie called her daughter to get up early. After Yao Niang dressed up, she asked Hong Xiu Qing Dai to carry her school bag and go out. Just after she walked a few steps, she saw the second Miss Yan and the fourth Miss Yan. The second Miss Yan was called Qian Niang. She was one year older than Yao Niang and was nine years old this year. Because the eldest daughter of the Yan family was taken back to the Qi Wang Mansion to be raised when she was very young, the second Miss Yan was the eldest sister in the Yan family. She was born to Concubine Yin. As for the fourth Miss Yan, Ying Niang, she was the daughter of the eldest lady Zhen and the youngest daughter of the Yan family, and was particularly favored.

"Second sister, fourth sister." Yao Niang greeted them with a smile.

Qianniang was always quiet and didn't talk much, but Yingniang's mouth was always busy: "Third sister, I heard that my eldest brother is about to get engaged? Have you met his future sister-in-law?"

Yao Niang shook her head and said, "I have only been back for a month. This marriage was arranged when my grandfather went to Beijing to report on his work and happened to meet Guan Xueshi. We are also from the same hometown, so we decided on this."

Ying Niang smiled and said, "I always think that a man as talented as my elder brother must be paired with a fairy."

Yao Niang smiled but said nothing. She and her eldest brother were not actually very close. This eldest brother had been raised in the room of his grandmother, the third old lady, since he was a child. Not to mention her, even she and her mother were not very close.

Even my grandmother was partial. When she wanted to invite her brother to play at home, she said that my eldest brother had to study and it would be too quiet at home. But when my brother invited his friends to play at home, my grandmother invited the best chef in the northwest and invited a troupe to perform, treating them completely differently.

Yao Niang was only six years old at the time, but she felt vaguely uncomfortable. As she got older, she could feel the difference more and more.

"Third sister, do you think my bracelet is beautiful?" Yingniang shook her wrist.

Yao Niang looked around and saw that Ying Niang was wearing a pair of Canaan fragrant wood bracelets inlaid with gold beads with the word "longevity" on her fair and round wrists. The inner lining was made of gold wisdom, and the outer lining was inlaid with small gold beads to form various "longevity" characters. It looked very luxurious. She nodded and said, "It's a good pair of bracelets, and the meaning is good too."

Yingniang gathered her sleeves and said, "Of course, this is a gift from my grandmother. It's not just for me, but also for my second sister. Second sister, why don't you show it to my third sister?"

Qianniang received a pair of gold bracelets inlaid with gemstones. The bracelets were made of filigree and inlaid with red, blue, and turquoise. She showed them to Yaoniang and said, "These are what grandma gave us to wear when we meet guests."

As for Yao Niang, of course she didn't have a bracelet. Although they were sisters, they were from different families, so Yao Niang had to call the old lady of the first family and the old lady Yu her great-uncle and great-aunt. When she was very young, she would complain about why they had them but she didn't. Now she has put these grievances aside.

When we were in the northwest, I saw my grandmother buy a lot of lapis lazuli, topaz, and coral. She also asked the Mongolians at the market to buy some crystals for her. They were all prepared for her future sister-in-law, and there was no share for her.

Qianniang glanced at Yingniang in a reproachful manner, and then she realized that she was deliberately making trouble. No wonder she insisted on letting her wear the bracelet yesterday, because she wanted to show off today. She thought Yingniang could really not care, after all, she was the eldest lady's legitimate daughter, and she could just act coquettishly and fool around, but she would inevitably offend others if she did so.

Especially the old ladies of the first and third houses were not on good terms. Originally, my grandmother was the wife of the Minister of War, and my father was her legitimate son. She wanted my father to inherit the third house and get its property, so she was very polite to the third old lady. But now my grandfather has retired, and the third old lady is now the Left Governor of Henan. The third old lady has always been protective and likes to compare. If Yao Niang says something when she goes back, it will be bad.

She wanted to interrupt and say something to change the subject, but she heard Yao Niang say, "My uncle knew I was back, so he sent a lot of abalone and barramundi from Dongshan. Those seafoods are fine, but the white jade loquats and black purple mulberry taste good. I'll send some to you sisters to try at lunch later. If they're delicious, you can send someone to get them."

Qianniang thought to herself, well, this Yaoniang is not a forgiving person either, she took revenge so quickly.

Among the three sisters, she was the daughter of the concubine Yin Yi Niang, who was a distant relative of Madam Yu. When her parents died, she and her sister went to live with her uncle, not to mention her natal family. Although the fourth sister's mother was from the Zhongshan Wuji Zhen family, a prominent family, Zhen's father died early, and her brothers and sisters grew up in her maternal grandfather's home. Zhen's maternal grandfather was originally the prime minister, with power in the government and the country, but now he is no longer the same as before. Zhen's two elder brothers, one of whom passed the imperial examination three years ago and later became the county magistrate in Pengze, and the other studied in the Imperial College, both of them are far away from Jinling.

Unlike the Xie family, who have lived in Taihu Lake for generations, Qianniang once heard from Aunt Yin that Xie's father had just been released from the imperial court and was a county magistrate in Henan. He had a daughter who was extremely beautiful. Although she was born out of wedlock, she was regarded as a treasure by Lord Xie. The third old lady had already taken a fancy to Xie, who was as beautiful as a flower bud, so she asked the third old lady to find out the mistakes Lord Xie made in his career and help him solve them. Then Xie married into the family naturally.

Therefore, Yao Niang's maternal grandfather, the Xie family, felt deeply guilty towards Xie and had always been very kind to her.

Yao Niang knew, of course, that Ying Niang was showing off on purpose, so she would not let her get away with it.