Red makeup against the world

Chapter 35
Mrs. Xu said: "In the Tu family, I rank third. The eldest sister ranks first. She is the most talented but also the most miserable. When her father was demoted, she had just married to the Lei family in the Marquis of Jinnan and became the first-in-law. The eldest daughter-in-law. Unexpectedly, her husband’s family was snobbish, her husband was weak, and her father suffered a lot of abuse after he lost power. My father was so angry that he asked the Minister of Rites at that time to be a guarantor, so he was able to reconcile and return home.”

Speaking of this, he sighed and said: "That's why my father married me to a businessman in the south of the Yangtze River, just to stay away from the gossip of the officialdom in the capital, and hope that I will live a prosperous and stable life."

Xu Wanzhen said: "The land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, can grandma live a satisfactory life?"

Mrs. Xu said with a smile: "Except for not being able to see my old father, I am naturally satisfied, but my eldest sister is really ill-fated. When my father was in the Imperial College, there was an excellent student Gao Lang, who had always admired her beauty. After learning that the eldest sister and Li had returned home, they came to ask for marriage. At that time, the elder sister had just reconciled and left, so I was in no mood to remarry. Three years later, I was married to Jiangnan, so I agreed to his proposal. The two had similar interests, and after getting married Hehe Meimei also has a daughter, Gao Gaoyang, who will be your second aunt. I also said that the elder sister finally came to the end of her hardships. Unexpectedly, the Yellow River was flooded. Washed away, there are no bones left."

Old Mrs. Xu's eyes were filled with tears: "The Gao family is a poor family, and there is only one seedling, not even a son. After this blow, if the daughter didn't need a mother, the eldest sister would hardly be able to survive. "

Xu Wanzhen sighed, her great aunt is really a beauty.In order to change the subject, I didn't expect Mrs. Xu to be even more sad when she talked about the elder sister.Quickly asked: "What about uncle?"

"Your uncle is the eldest son of the father, ranking second, one year younger than the elder sister. He married Lin, the concubine daughter of Youcheng, Minister of Rites, and raised two legitimate sons and two concubine daughters. The eldest son, Tu Bowen, was also married. Now, there are the eldest daughter Tu Manfen, the second daughter Tu Manzhen, and the eldest son Tu Ruiming. The second son Tu Bosi just got married, and the eldest son Tu Ruizhang is just over five years old. He is the same age as Yuer, Xiaoyue."

Mrs. Xu is so familiar, and Xu Wanzhen was dizzy when she heard it. She was not good at sorting out these kinship relationships in her previous life, so she said coquettishly: "Grandma, I can't remember so many names for a while. It sounds like I have two cousins. Two cousins?"

Mrs. Xu poked her forehead with her finger and said with a smile, "You are a lazy monkey. Remember, your uncle's granddaughter is of the same generation as you. Manfen is 17 years old and Manzhen is 14 years old. Older than you, you have to call cousin. Rui Ming is 12 years old and Ruizhang is five years old, both younger than you, and you call them cousin. Is it clear to say that?"

Xu Wanzhen stuck out her tongue mischievously, leaned her head on Mrs. Xu's shoulder affectionately, and said, "It's still grandma who loves Zhen'er."

The lively Lantern Festival has passed, and there are only two days left before departure.

I don't know how long I will stay in Beijing this time, the big items I need have been sorted out in the twelfth lunar month, and Tu Rui was sent back to Beijing to report the letter in the twelfth lunar month.

The rest is some personal clothing, soft goods, contracts, books, etc. that need to be sorted out. Sangzi and Ge Mahjong are sorted into various boxes and cages, and they can be moved directly to the boat when they set off.

As a parenting mother, Madam Zheng doesn't touch these tasks, she only needs to take care of her luggage.She sighed inwardly, it has only been a few years, and she never expected to return to the capital again.Although Suzhou City is his hometown, he has no place of his own now.This time, I wonder if I can return home in the future?
Xu Wanzhen saw that several people were so busy that they didn't touch the ground, so she brought a little girl to the courtyard where her parents lived.The yard is rough and the mother-in-law cleans it every other day, keeping it as clean and tidy as A Niang was alive.

But after all, without the hostess, it seemed empty and lonely.Dad must have heard the news of A Niang's death, right?I still don't know how to be sad.Xu Wanzhen brushed her hand over the dressing table used by A Niang, feeling sad in her heart.

Hearing light footsteps outside the door, looking back, it turned out that Yulu had come.

Yulu said softly: "I didn't know that the eldest lady is here until I went to Yingyun Pavilion. It happened that the old lady sent me to bring Mrs. Xu's dowry list, and gave it to the eldest lady."

The Gaomang Dynasty has a law expressly stipulating that the dowry given by the mother's family to the daughter as a dowry belongs to private property and cannot be used by the husband's family.Usually the mother's dowry will be used for the marriage of the children in the future. Xu Wenmin, Xu Wanzhen, and Xu Wenyu's brothers and sisters are not married, so this dowry has not been used yet.

But Mrs. Xu has passed away and has not left a will, so Mrs. Xu's continued custody of this dowry will inevitably attract criticism.The eldest son Xu Wenmin was still in prison, so he simply handed over the dowry to Xu Wanzhen, and she kept it on behalf of the three brothers and sisters.

Yulu said again: "The old lady said, Missy wants to seal up the dowry and store it in storage, or transport it to Kyoto together."

Xu Wanzhen thought for a moment, and said, "There are many variables in going to Beijing this time, so it's better to seal it up and put it in storage."

After taking the dowry list and looking it over carefully, A Niang’s dowry mainly consisted of huanghuali furniture of various colors, precious medicinal materials, jewelry and head coverings, some antique calligraphy and paintings, 1000 taels of silver in a pressed box, and a [-]-acre fertile farmland in Zhuangzi on the outskirts of Suzhou.

The furniture on the list is placed in the wing room for daily use, and some of the medicinal materials are used up. The antique calligraphy and paintings are all placed in the warehouse. Now it is only necessary to put the remaining medicinal materials and Auntie’s jewelry in the warehouse for storage.Xu Wanzhen put away the silver box first, and it was Zhuangzi and Liangtian who were in trouble.

Xu Wanzhen asked: "How is the family in that village now?"

Yulu replied: "When the eldest lady passed away, Zhuangtou came and was received by the old lady. Now we are going to Beijing, and the old lady has sent someone to notify them to come up, and they should be able to arrive tomorrow."

"Well, tomorrow they arrive and you come and call me."

After the two of them finished talking, Xu Wanzhen asked Yulu to call Ge Ma, together with two little maids, and put Mrs. Xu's dowry into storage and register it in the book in one afternoon.

Xu Wanzhen said: "Ge Ma, are you willing to guard my mother's dowry at Xu's house?"

Although Xu Wanzhen gave her Ge Ma's body deed, for a little girl in her teens, she couldn't find a better job for a while.

For a family like her, what she is best at is serving the master.There are only two paths in front of her, either to be a embroiderer and get married when she is old; or to be a maidservant for a rich family and marry with the young lady.

Now Xu Wanzhen has given her a third way. Although staying at Xu's house to guard the dowry is hard work, she still has monthly money to receive, and it's not as hard work as Xiu Niang.

Being able to guard the dowry shows that she has a good character, and she is a maid who is valued by the owner's family. When talking about marriage, many people will be willing, and she should be able to marry into an innocent family and be a good lady.

Of course Ge Ma was willing, readily agreed, and said: "I want to stay in Xu's house to do this job, it's better to return the deed to Miss."

Mrs. Xu's dowry is all valuables, and only with a deed can she feel more at ease. Xu Wanzhen nodded in agreement.

　If you say it explodes, it will explode, and the first update is here today^_^
　　Please bookmark the recommendation ticket, Zhou Zhou strokes the babies~~
　　


(End of this chapter)