Chapter 095 Chapter 95
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Yao Niang and Shen Linfeng went back to visit their parents' parents. They brought several carts of gifts and happened to meet Wen Qilang and Qian Niang at the door. Yao Niang and Qian Niang had an average relationship, but Wen Qilang and Shen Linfeng, the two brothers-in-law, had a good relationship.
"Second brother-in-law."
"Third brother-in-law."
Yao Niang asked Qian Niang: "Why don't you bring the child back to show grandfather?"
"Children cannot stand the wind." Qianniang secretly blamed Yaoniang for not having given birth and not caring for children. However, she looked at Yaoniang's waist and remembered that she and her sisters had once taken a hot spring bath together at the hot spring resort. Yaoniang did not even have hair under her armpits. Her body was too bare, and she was afraid that it would hinder her husband's fertility.
No wonder people say that women should not be too beautiful. Since ancient times, beautiful women have often had a short life.
In fact, Yao Niang also felt that Qian Niang had changed a lot. Although she had a lot of small thoughts when she was in the Yan family, she was not really a bad person. After going to the Wen family, she became much more vain and competitive. It seemed that she had some spirit before she got married, but now it is all gone.
The two sisters were very polite when they met Li. Li herself was only pretty, but she found that the girls in the Yan family were more beautiful than each other, and some could even be considered both beautiful and talented. She always felt a little inferior.
"Second sister, third sister, are you here together?" Li came out to greet them with a smile.
Yao Niang said, "We just happened to meet at the door. Sister-in-law, you don't have to greet us. I will go to my previous room and take a look by myself."
"Sister-in-law, I want to tell you about my daughter. I brought a lot of little things for my nephew. Come on, let's go in and talk." Qianniang pulled Li in, talking about children.
Yao Niang shook her head and went into her room to look around. The furnishings remained the same. She came back often, so Li did her a favor and often sent people in to clean the room.
After dinner at her parents' home, they listened to a small opera. On the third day of the new year, they went to the Marquis of Jinghai's mansion.
"Sister Du, I made two sets of clothes for Sister Shan. She saw that my doll's skirt looked good on her, so I asked the tailor to make it accordingly. Remember to give it to her." Yao Niang said with a smile.
Mrs. Liu sighed, "No wonder Sister Shan is always thinking about you. You are the only one who always remembers her kindness. Also, is your family holding a play on the sixth day of the New Year? I will go there whenever I can."
Yao Niang said, "Lin Feng and I are the only ones here, and since our parents are not around, we won't invite many guests. We can just invite relatives and friends to get together on the sixth day of the New Year."
Mrs. Liu nodded: "I would love to, but you know my family, there is nothing we can do."
As he said this, he led Yao Niang to the table. Yao Niang was a very young wife of the Imperial Academy, and she came from an extraordinary family. She always kept a high profile in such occasions. It was not that she was not good at socializing, but that there was no need. Shen Linfeng was an editor of the Imperial Academy, and he was so active that he could easily be plotted against.
Besides, a bird in the hand is worth a thousand in the forest. She is on good terms with Madam Liu and is a guest of honor at the Marquis of Jinghai's Mansion, which is much better than many others.
Mrs. Liu thought the same. She said to her mother, Mrs. Du, "This girl is young and not the type to go around scheming. She is very kind to our sister Shan."
Madam Du said, "In fact, it is not necessary for her status. I have seen some wives of officials socializing with others everywhere. It is not good if they get involved in something. I have heard that some wives lend money privately or open shops together and ask for favors everywhere. It is not good at that time. The Shen family is rich, Shen Linfeng has a bright future, and her grandfather is the Minister of Works. There is no need for this."
"Even if her grandfather wasn't an official, there wouldn't be any need for this. Once you enter a circle, it's easy for you to be out of control." Mrs. Liu was a little tired of hosting flower banquets in a row, and she thought that holding one a year would be enough in the future.
Unless she is like her aunt, the wife of Duke Cheng, whose family has fallen into decline and she has started to rely on these things to gather a group of people.
Otherwise, if you walk on the roadside often, your shoes will get wet.
In fact, it is not that Yao Niang is aloof, but she feels that it is not worth it, and she has her own judgment. Because her family and she herself do not need to ask others for anything, as the saying goes, "no desire means strength."
Soon it was the sixth day of the first lunar month. Shen Linfeng invited many of his peers from the Hanlin Academy, relatives and even his classmates in Beijing to come, including Yao Niang, Qin Shubai's wife and several Hanlin wives. Qian Niang also came, of course. She rarely came before. In her opinion, she was the daughter-in-law of the prime minister and should not lower her status easily.
But she didn't expect that when she came here, she would find that the wife of the Prince of Jinghai, Princess Jianing, the wife of the Duke of Chengguo, the wife of the Minister of Rites, Mrs. Du, and even the daughter-in-law of Zhao Ci Fu were all there, not to mention the wives of the Hanlin scholars who were also present.
Although she, the daughter-in-law of the Prime Minister, was treated with considerable courtesy, she was not as treated as she had imagined.
Goodbye Yao Niang said to everyone: "We grow very rare peonies and roses at home, most of which are shipped from Luoyang and Pingyin. Peonies bloom best in June, especially the one in a pot and two in a pot, which I like the most. But because I don't want to use the greenhouse in winter, I painted it down for everyone to appreciate."
She spread out the painting, but saw a pot of purple and pink flowers on it. The two colors complemented each other, and the flowers bloomed for good fortune. Pian Yao Niang was a timid person. It's a pity that my waist is too thin, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to conceive two. So if any of you want a dragon and a phoenix, I can give it to you."
When Mrs. Qin heard this, she quickly agreed, "Yes, I have heard that too, but I already have two little kids at home, so two more won't be too much."
"Mrs. Qin, don't take advantage of your family's good relationship with Grandma Shen to just take it away. Why don't you give it to me and I will give it to my daughter-in-law." Mrs. Du joked.
Everyone was half-jokingly eager to come over, and the people who had originally said they were going to play around actually wanted to take it for themselves.
Yao Niang covered her mouth and said, "I'm sorry that you all snatched my flowers so much. If our Erqiao is lucky enough to bloom this year, I will definitely invite you all to come and admire the flowers."
Then he asked someone to put the painting away. "Don't you like to isolate others and look down on them based on whether they have children or not? What's the big deal about having one child? Why not have two or ten?"
Finally, she praised Mrs. Liu for her good fortune in giving birth to twins, a dragon and a phoenix.
Mrs. Liu was certainly very lucky. She had both sons and daughters, her parents and parents-in-law were all there, and she was her only husband. She was the most envied woman in the capital.
This was also something that everyone knew. Seeing that Yao Niang only cared about praising her, Madam Liu said, "I have known the little sister of the Yan family for many years. I watched her grow up and get married. Now that I see that Editor Shen loves her so much, I am very happy."
"I would also like to thank you for being our happy wife back then. How could I be so lucky?" Yao Niang said with a smile.
Mrs. Liu thought that Yao Niang was really good at talking. It all depended on whether she was willing to coax you. Even a woman like her felt very comfortable after being coaxed.
Everyone saw that Yao Niang and Madam Liu had a very good relationship, and she was neither humble nor overbearing in her conversation with everyone. A lot of refreshing were prepared for the banquet. Grandma Zhao said, "I can't stand eating fried meat these days. Fortunately, there are refreshing dishes like this now, stir-fried rapeseed, with a little bit of oil residue dishes, but not too vegetarian, I like it."
"Our drinks are still peanut milk. Rice milk is nothing, but this black bean peanut milk is particularly delicious." Mrs. Du often loses weight. Those drinks are delicious, but there are too many peaches in them. This is much better.
Yao Niang smiled and said, "It's good that everyone likes it. After dinner, we will go to listen to storytelling and ventriloquism. Today's story is "The Destined One in Guazhou"."
Wang covered her mouth and said, "We only listened to the first part, and sister-in-law called the storytellers for the second part so quickly."
"It's nothing, it's just that I have a lot of money and I can do whatever I want." Yao Niang didn't lie. The opera troupe was lively, but they had already arranged the date, and she only wanted one day. In that case, it would be better to invite a storyteller. There was only one person telling the story, and she could invite him for thirty taels. Anyway, they couldn't finish a book in one day.
Thirty taels is almost half a year's income for a storyteller.
She was joking, but the people around were impressed by the elegance of the Shen family's furnishings, the exquisite utensils, and the gorgeous clothes of the servants. Yao Niang certainly didn't like to show off her wealth to others, but she only invited the actors and actresses for one day, so it was inevitable that some people would talk nonsense.
This made Qianniang jealous. She married into the Wen family, the prime minister's mansion, and their wealth and power were beyond the reach of ordinary people. The family could eat shad given by the emperor, wear clothes made in the inner palace, and even take Western medicine. Even the peony that Yaoniang mentioned just now, their Wen family had a large peony garden in Luoyang, but this still could not change her sister's wealth.
This is the capital city. Power and wealth can easily dazzle people. If you don't have them, others will look down on you. Everyone is born with a pair of eyes that yearn for wealth.
After the banquet, everyone went to listen to storytelling. During the banquet, all kinds of exquisite Jiangnan snacks, drinks and soft chairs were prepared very well. Even Lu Shaner couldn't help but say to Qingda's grandmother: "The eldest wife is really rich. The charcoal burned in the house is the best silver wire. No wonder there is no smell at all."
Grandma Qing said, "That's not the case. There is a big incense burner in the middle. Yan is good at incense. Even other charcoal will be covered by the fragrance. And she keeps serving hot drinks. Even if someone is cold, they will not feel cold after drinking a few sips of hot water. Yan is indeed good at managing the household, but my daughter-in-law is not as good as her."
Lu Shan'er said, "You can see through all these things about her. Isn't your ability greater than hers?"
In fact, this is what Grandma Shangqing thought, but her family background is not as good as Concubine Yan's. Apart from that, she is worse than her in everything else.
But Yao Niang felt that she was really overthinking it, because she really prepared all silver frost charcoal, and there was no trick at all. It was very simple, she couldn't use up the 300 kilograms of silver frost charcoal sent by her manor, not to mention that the Shen family sent a total of 1,000 kilograms of top-grade silver frost charcoal, 2,000 kilograms of medium-grade silver frost charcoal, and more than 30,000 kilograms of firewood charcoal.
Not to mention that Yao Niang also bought a lot of charcoal when it was cheap.
She was right when she said that a rich girl should behave with care. When she was at home, Xie was very good at making money by opening a shop and pawning it. At her husband's house, her husband was also very good at business.
But even though Yao Niang is rich, she doesn't like to be taken advantage of. She is not a good-tempered person by nature.
"Everyone is gathered at my house today. I want to draw a picture as a souvenir. You don't have to pay attention to me." Yao Niang stood up and said with a smile.
When Mrs. Liu heard that Yao Niang wanted to paint, she quickly said to the people around her, "Go ask the second master to get me a mirror."
Mrs. Du blamed her daughter: "You could have just asked the servant to get it, but you asked your son-in-law to bring it here. You really don't want to send him."
"Who made him make me angry yesterday?" Mrs. Liu didn't want to listen.
All the female relatives present also hurriedly sat up straight. Qianniang has always regarded herself as a talented woman, and she also feels different from the others among the daughters-in-law of the Wen family. Others all praise her as the talented woman of the Yan family, but Yaoniang is unknown. Everyone just knows that she is at most pretty. Even if someone occasionally says that she is good at painting, that is when she is solving cases, not that she is really good at painting.
Because Yao Niang is not good at painting, she is only good at drawing the people described by others.
Now Yao Niang was sitting on a high platform not far away, and she knew the whole scene very well. She first drew the storyteller's stage. This stage was her home and she had decorated it herself, so she was very familiar with it.
In fact, most people have no appreciation of art. All they want is to look beautiful in the painting, and they will be very happy. Even Shen Linfeng, who is such a self-respecting person, couldn't help but feel happy when he painted her so handsome.
The most beautiful person in the crowd was Madam Liu. This was objective. She often boasted about her good looks. Yao Niang thought she was also very beautiful. She was like a peach that would burst and ooze juice if poked. Her eyes were hooked. Yao Niang was not like that. At best, she could only charm Shen Linfeng. Lu Shan'er was also beautiful. Now that she had become Madam Shen San, she had become more graceful.
As for the other ladies who were not good-looking, she painted them with full momentum. She painted while thinking, and even kept coloring during the evening banquet. When they left, Yao Niang asked someone to light the lamp and start painting.
As the scroll was unrolled, even the men in the front hall came to watch. Commander Liu used his sharpest eyes to spot Mrs. Liu at a glance. He even called out his wife's nickname: "Ruo Wei, I see you. That's you. You are the most beautiful."
Mrs. Liu blushed: "What are you talking about?"
Yao Niang and Shen Linfeng looked at each other and smiled secretly. Shen Linfeng also came over quietly and said, "Yao Niang, you are the most beautiful."
"Don't talk nonsense, there are many people in this painting." Yao Niang hit him.
The other ladies were also looking for their own images in the portrait. Even Zhao Cifu's eldest daughter-in-law, Zhao Danain, quietly pulled Yao Niang aside to ask for Erqiao's portrait.
Yao Niang was in a dilemma: "Several people asked me for it just now. If I give it to you, how can I explain it to them? How about you help me think of a solution?"
In fact, this painting was originally intended for the Zhao family. Now that Grandma Zhao is asking for it, I can’t give it to her easily.
Grandma Zhao smiled and said, "It's hard to say. Tomorrow is our family's banquet. You can just say that I don't want anything but this painting as a gift. How can others dare to say anything?"
"Okay, then I'll bring the painting to your door tomorrow." Yao Niang said.
Today, the guests, especially the female guests, are the most satisfied. For these women in the inner house, few people would paint their portraits. Only before they die, someone would paint for them, or even after they die, their family would have someone paint for them.
It is difficult for these women's faces to survive, especially the youngest and most beautiful ones.
With this painting, those who want to see my portrait will certainly come often. In this way, I don't have to flatter them, and they will come. Real talent is always the most attractive.
Qingda's grandmother had been running the business for a long time, but seeing all those ladies surrounding Yao Niang, she couldn't help but say to Shao: "What a good trick, I'll let you reconcile with her, right?"
Shao snorted coldly: "Sister-in-law, I have to go back to take care of my child. He is young and cannot be left alone."
"Why is your sister-in-law in such a hurry to leave? She still has to wait for Madam." said Grandma Qingda.
Han Ruohua also said: "Yes, sister-in-law, we still have to wait for the madam."
Shao glanced at her and then waited for Lu Shan'er. When Lu Shan'er first met Yao Niang, it was Yao Niang who helped her paint. Now she saw a picture of a night banquet with herself in the picture, and she was very happy.
The three daughters-in-law waited for a long time before Lu Shaner came over. Seeing that the three looked indifferent, she couldn't help but complain in her heart, it was really a case of jealousy over talent. Even she admired Yan's trick, these three were completely a crow and a phoenix.
Using one's own talents to attract people is something that no one else can replicate. It has to be said that the children of the Yan family are indeed very talented and have very sharp minds.
For example, the Qingda grandmother liked to use benefits to bind people, but at the same time, she also wanted to use Shen Xunfu's cards to do favors. In fact, although Lu Shaner was not from a wealthy family, she also knew that the cards should not be given out casually. What should she do if these people took the cards and went out to do something wrong? But before she knew it, the Qingda grandmother took several cards and gave them away.
Although interests can bring everyone together temporarily, they can also cause people to fall apart in an instant.
The next day, Yao Niang sent the painting of Er Qiao over. She was not a smooth-talking person in the Zhao family, but anyone who talked to her would be attracted by her wit and humor.
Because of his close relationship with the Zhao family, and the fact that the president of the Hanlin Academy and Zhao Ci Fu were of the same year, and even had a close relationship, the opportunity to take charge of the inner cabinet fell to Shen Linfeng.
Shen Linfeng pulled Yao Niang to sit on his lap and couldn't help but say, "I never thought that one day I, Shen Linfeng, would also be a gigolo."
"Are you angry then?" Yao Niang knew that many men had strong self-esteem, especially someone like Shen Linfeng.
Shen Linfeng shook his head quickly: "Free food still tastes good, not to mention, those who can't eat free food will envy me? But I am very curious, why did you let Zhao Cifu recommend me just by giving a painting."
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Because when I was in the Marquis of Jinghai's mansion, I heard Madam Liu casually mention that the Zhao family had difficulty in having children. But that day, Mrs. Wu, the daughter-in-law of Grandmother Zhao, seemed to be vomiting non-stop while eating, as if she was having morning sickness, but Wu seemed to be unaware of it. So I made up a story that night, saying that I was 30% sure that Wu might be pregnant, so my painting would have the meaning of giving birth to a child. Sure enough, Wu became pregnant after a month, and I knew that good days were coming for the two of us."
As a young lady from an official family, she certainly knew that only by taking turns to serve in the inner cabinet could she get to know the cabinet ministers better and learn more about how to govern the country and maintain peace. If her talents could be known to the higher-ups, Shen Linfeng would be able to stand out faster than others.
"In fact, I am lucky. If Wu hadn't been pregnant, it would have been difficult for me."
Shen Linfeng hugged her and said with a smile: "It's our sister, the Goddess, Fu Hui, who is gone."
"There's no such thing as being both blessed and intelligent. I just wanted you to take turns on duty in the inner cabinet. You've become busy now and don't have that much time to bother me." Yao Niang said stubbornly.
Shen Linfeng cried out in injustice: "Didn't you say it was quite comfortable? Now you blame me."
Yao Niang has always been good at speaking, but when he said this, she was like a cooked shrimp and did not refute for the first time.
**
Since Shen Linfeng took over the cabinet, he has been working diligently. Sometimes he even cannot go home overnight. He is much busier than before, but he has gradually come into contact with many officials. Officials who can make it to the cabinet are considered the best among officials. There are also the six ministers, especially the two ministers he often comes into contact with. One is Du Shangshu. The two assistant ministers under him do not get along well with him. Although Du Shangshu is quite talented, he was parachuted into the Ministry of Rites, and many of the Ministry of Rites' powers were encroached upon by other ministries.
Let’s talk about the old Minister Yan Mai, who was his wife’s grandfather. He was indeed a capable official. Every number he reported and every word he said was accurate to the minute. He didn’t even need to look up the manual. He knew it all by heart. But he was a lone minister who didn’t form cliques or pursue personal gains. Therefore, he was often alone and had no say. Even if the suggestions he made were good, it was difficult for anyone to adopt them.
Unless it was the Yellow River or the emperor's order to build a certain place, he would urge Yan Mai. However, Yan Mai was different from what he imagined. He did not complain, but did a very good job.
Even his mentor Zhao Ci Fu, whose methods were coordinated between the upper and lower levels, did not offend anyone. Although he sometimes favored his fellow villager, his ability to win over people was first-rate.
What he has to do now is to manage the machinery and do his job well.
After Shen Linfeng took over the cabinet, Second Elder Shen often praised Shen Linfeng at the table: "I originally thought that this child was not like his brother, but I didn't expect that he would take over the cabinet. It is said that Zhao Cifu and Wen Shoufu have both praised this child. Our Shen family is about to produce a thousand-mile horse."
Madam Shen peeled chestnuts and said in disbelief: "Master, you are the first in the imperial examination. Is Lin Feng better than you?"
"Although I ranked first in the imperial examination, I spent six years studying history in the Hanlin Academy before I was promoted to Zuo Chunfang Zuo Yude. He has been on duty in the inner cabinet in his second year after entering the Hanlin Academy. Being an official is better than being a scholar..." said Elder Shen.
Madam Shen Er laughed and said, "I heard that Brother Feng's daughter-in-law had a relationship with the Zhao family, which is why this happened."
Second Master Shen said, "That's because Brother Feng has good vision. If he had really listened to his eldest sister-in-law and married Han, and Han had been talking about economics and official careers every day, Sanlang would have been unwilling to go home by now. Back then, Yan was originally chosen by the third brother for his son, but Sanlang was scared away and Linfeng took over. Linfeng is not someone who is willing to do such a ridiculous thing easily. So, even if Yan helps him, he has to be discerning enough to marry Yan and be good to Yan, so that Yan will be willing to help him."
Madam Shen Er disagreed: "If you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you follow the dog. If Yan marries Sanlang, who knows, it would be difficult for a good cook to cook without rice?"
"But she won't get married. A woman who can personally set questions for her future husband is so opinionated that she will definitely not marry an ordinary man~"
Second Master Shen took a sip of wine and suddenly remembered that Zhou Lingguang, the son of the former Imperial College Priest, seemed to be secretly investigating him and was planning to marry into the new Zuodu Yushi Fan family. What a fool! He only picked family background but not the ability of his wife. He thought that he could fight against himself by finding a capable father-in-law. In this respect, he was not as good as the women of the Yan family. They were willing to examine the character and ability of their wife future husbands. I am afraid that they will suffer a great loss in the future.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
