Chapter 022 Situation

The third old lady had not been seen for two years, and she was still the same as before. She was now dissatisfied with Xie's arrangement of this marriage. Of course, these were pure nitpicking in Yao Niang's eyes.

"You should also be more careful and don't make the Guan family laugh at you."

In fact, the third old lady did not do this for Guan family at all, but purely to elevate Guan family's status and suppress Xie family's.

Xie smiled and said, "Don't worry, it will be done."

The third old lady glanced at her and said, "Don't be so confident. I have a lot of local products brought back from Henan in my warehouse. You can go and divide them up. It just so happens that your family is here."

Xie expressed her gratitude again, "My two brothers and sister-in-law are here, so it's a good opportunity to welcome you at lunch today, and let them come and pay their respects to you."

"Hmm." The third old lady nodded. She had some relatives relationship with the Xie family. Moreover, she heard that Yan Yingqi had been staying with the Xie family for most of the past two years and was so favored.

Yao Niang then presented two pairs of socks she had made: "Grandma, my needlework is not good, I hope you won't mind."

The third old lady casually glanced at He Yaoniang. Although she was only eleven years old, she was already a graceful young lady, and she looked completely different from the little girl she had been in the past few years. After accepting the needlework, she looked at the stitches, which were very detailed and looked like she had put a lot of effort into it. This child could not wait any longer, so she praised, "It looks like she put a lot of effort into it."

"There are still many shortcomings, and my mother doesn't have the time to teach me right now. I originally wanted to go to the first house and ask the eldest lady if I could learn from the needlework master of my second and fourth sisters, but the first house also had to arrange a marriage, so it was delayed." Yao Niang said with some regret.

The Third Old Lady couldn't bear to hear that the Third House's people had to ask the First House for help, so she immediately said, "Why do you still ask the First House for help? I have a good needleworker by my side. Yue'e, from now on, you will serve the Third Young Lady."

Yao Niang continued, "Although it is said that gifts from elders cannot be refused, how can I ask my grandmother's people to serve me? But I heard that Gu's embroidery is the best in the world with fine hair, needles as fine as hair, and colors as beautiful as paintings. If I can hire a needlework master and let the people of the Gu family give me some advice, I will also benefit a lot."

"It's not difficult. Just ask her to come over." said the third old lady.

Yao Niang smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Grandmother. I haven't asked you yet, how is Grandfather's health? This year, his term of office is almost up to three years. Will he go to the capital to report on his work?"

The third old lady glanced at Yao Niang and said, "Your grandfather was transferred to the post of Left Governor of Henan Province, which is considered a promotion. He doesn't have to report to the capital. But I won't go this time when I come back. I'm too old to move around."

"That's good. The more people there are at home, the more lively it is. You may not know that my elder sister has also returned from Prince Qi's Palace." Yao Niang said.

Even if relatives serve in the same court, they have to avoid suspicion and cannot both be in the central government. My father is now the Minister of Rites in Nanjing. If my father is transferred to the capital, my grandfather will not be able to be in the central government. Now my grandfather is still the governor of Henan, so my father is very likely to return to Beijing.

The third old lady didn't care much about whether Yan Ningxin would come back or not. After letting Xie's mother and daughter leave, she checked the gifts for the new daughter-in-law again.

On the way back, Xie suddenly asked Yao Niang, "Why did you tell your grandmother that you wanted to hire a needlework master? If you had told mother, she would have hired one for you earlier."

"No, I know that my grandmother comes from a family of poetry and literature, but she herself doesn't like these and has a quick temper. Only people with a good temper can get along with her. I can at least find something for her to do so that she won't always find fault with you. In a few days her assistant will come in, and I don't know if she will have to give the power of the housekeeper and everything to others." Yao Niang pouted.

It turned out to be because of her. Xie held her daughter's hand and said, "You don't have to worry about me in the future."

Yao Niang shook her head: "How can I not worry? Mother, you told me that people who worry about the future will have immediate concerns. In the past few years, we have lived a good life because our grandparents are not here, Dad is on your side, and my brother has gradually become close to us. But after my sister-in-law came into the family, my grandmother was also at home, so it was two against one."

Xie touched her daughter's head and said, "Yao Niang, I have told you that when everyone has a common enemy, they will certainly unite against the enemy, but when there is no such enemy, they may be in chaos. You may have noticed that the Guan family has strict rules and the family is simple and ancient, which is very different from our family. Your grandmother's temper is not easy to deal with, and I am tired of being the housekeeper. Even if your grandmother doesn't say it, I also want to hand over the housekeeper power. This is called retreating to advance. If you can't advance in everything, just take a step back. It may not be a bad thing."

The reason why she couldn't enter was because Xie couldn't be Yan Yingqi's legal wife, and she had a mother-in-law above her. She couldn't get past Zhen's order, nor could she get past the order of the third old lady. Why did she have to be a bad person and let the new bride enter? She took a step back, and the new bride and the old lady were together. Even if the old lady was nice to people, she still had a bad temper. The woman from the Guan family was not gentle in nature. She would come out again when their alliance was broken.

Yao Niang thought for a long time, and finally said: "Mother, what grandma wants is her own people. Whether my sister-in-law is good or not, she is still her own person."

And she knew that her grandmother had always treated her mother as an outsider, and even treated her better than her mother.

Xie insisted, "Yao Niang, I have considered what you said, but in the world, things that are long separated must be reunited, and things that are long reunited must be separated. No matter what you do, you can't let others see what you really want. If you want this thing too much, it will become a hindrance to you."

Be patient, understand human nature, and strike hard.

Yao Niang nodded secretly.

I also heard Xie say, "Your brother is getting married, and many relatives will come. You should meet more guests and know how to entertain them."

Yao Niang nodded in agreement.

On the 18th of the month of Ramadan, the morning was very lively and the Yan family was packed with people. Xie got up early to do the work. Yan Yingqi felt sorry for her: "Your hands are so cold, and you got up so early. How can you..."

"It's okay. It would be bad if I went late." Xie pursed her lips.

Yan Yingqi knew from Yao Niang that the Third Old Lady was picking on someone, so he consoled her, "Don't worry. If anything really happens, just blame it on me."

Xie smiled and said, "I know you always worry about me, but when the new bride comes home, I won't have to manage the household anymore, and I won't be so tired in the future."

She even yawned a little, and hugged Yan Yingqi and said, "Don't lose your temper today. Be good."

"Of course." Yan Yingqi agreed with her.

Yao Niang followed Xie and helped to entertain and call for female guests whenever they came. When she felt tired, Mrs. Ming and Yan Rubai would come to help, and she could then take a break and sit next to her aunt.

The Xie family has always been in Dongshan. Although they know that the Yan family is now extremely powerful, they have not felt it deeply. Now that Aunt Xie is among them, she truly understands what a powerful family is.

The people who came and went were all high-ranking officials in the ministries and halls. Even though Xie was just a concubine, she was still respected by everyone.

Even Zhen felt uneasy watching Xie being in the spotlight, but she would not show it. Those ladies in charge of the imperial court and other ladies in the government departments seemed to be blind. No one showed any feeling, so they could only digest the matter on their own.

But unexpectedly, the situation changed slightly after the arrival of Madam Xie, the wife of the Nanjing Imperial College's chief priest. She walked in and called out to Zhen, "Madam Yan."

Zhen smiled and asked her to sit down, saying, "It's really great that you can come."

Mrs. Xie was from the Xie family of Chen County. She was a famous talented woman and had published many poetry collections. Her father was such a minor figure, but she had all the glory. However, she attached great importance to rules.

Especially the rules of hierarchy between legitimate and illegitimate children, so when she saw Zhen sitting on one side and Xie greeting everyone, she asked, "Why is it that the concubine is in charge now?"

Xie was always sensitive and she had never expected that Madam Xie would say these things. Yao Niang was a little tired and was sitting aside drinking tea, but when she heard Madam Xie talking like this, she could only pretend not to hear it, otherwise there would be a quarrel and her son's marriage would be ruined.

Zhen felt that retribution had come. She even thought that she didn't need to say anything, as Xie was already upset enough.

So, she pretended to be embarrassed and said, "You may be mistaken. This is the mistress of our third room."

"Since ancient times, a husband can only have one wife. It should be the legal wife who comes forward. I'm sorry that I cannot agree with this." Mrs. Xie said, then walked away in a huff.

Yao Niang is no longer the same person she was when she was little. She knows very well that although her mother's status in the clan seems to be the same as Zhen's, it is actually different outside. Others just won't say it directly, and if someone says it now, it will embarrass Xie in public.

She quickly ran to Xie's side, but Xie was still smiling, as if she hadn't heard anything at all.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"It's okay." Xie patted Yao Niang's hand.

In addition to Zhen's half-true and half-false concern, Aunt Xie, who had just felt that the Yan family was extremely powerful, also hurried forward to ask a few questions. Although Xie was about to fall at this time, she was still calm and said to everyone: "We have invited a troupe of actors to our house. Please follow me to listen to the opera first."

Yao Niang also went with her sisters. On the way, everyone was silent for a while, as everyone had their own worries. Ying Niang felt very happy, as her mother was the legitimate wife, but she had to endure being on an equal footing with Jie. Qian Niang wondered if her lover was engaged. Yan Ningxin felt a little sympathetic towards Jie's situation.

The people on the stage were singing happily. Yao Niang was actually feeling more sad than Xie, because she thought about how much sarcasm her mother had endured, both openly and covertly, over the years. Some of them, like Madam Xie, had embarrassed her, while others, like those who secretly envied and sarcastically criticized her.

Although his attitude towards his mother changed after his elder brother passed the imperial examination and became an official, his relationship with the third old lady might have deepened with the marriage of his sister-in-law. If he was asked to seek a title for his mother at the cost of his future, he might not be willing to do so.

Then she could only rely on herself. She couldn't take the imperial examination, but there were still other ways. If one day she really achieved something great, perhaps she could confer a title on her mother and give her mother status.

Otherwise, this kind of raw rice is disgusting to eat.

Yao Niang secretly made up her mind to bring honor to her mother.