The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 27

The news that the Wang family came to propose marriage soon spread throughout the Yang family.

"It is said that the Wang family's garden in Fujian is bigger than Baifang Garden." Sixth Lady and Seventh Lady whispered, "Entering from the east end of the garden, it will take a long time to walk to the west end of the garden."

Baifangyuan is already quite big, the Wang family has a small population, but the land they live in is larger than Baifangyuan, which shows that the family is well-off.

"Third sister is so lucky." Seventh Lady laughed.

They are all concubines, with dead lips and cold teeth. Although they are not friendly at ordinary times, they still hope that the third lady can talk about a good family.

The Wang family entrusted the Li family to be a big matchmaker to come to propose marriage. Even if Mr. Yang was thinking about the eldest wife and dragged the matter until the eldest wife came back, which would hinder the face of both the Li family and the Wang family, how could the eldest wife say no?
Mama Wang had already sent out the second group of messengers.

In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient. From Suzhou to the capital, even the fastest horse had to run for more than ten days.

Not to mention that the eldest wife has to send letters back.

Once back and forth, one month younger, if Fourth Concubine can make the old man nod his head and change Geng's post, then the marriage will be a certainty, and there will be no twists and turns.

The third lady felt extremely ashamed when she saw someone.

Although the sisters don't know what to say, the respectable old mothers in charge will inevitably laugh and joke, "It's the age to talk about others!"

After the marriage was revealed, the faces of Fourth Aunt and Third Aunt gradually returned to their former glory.

After all, although the concubine's first lady under the eldest wife's knees also married into a wealthy family, her family status is much lower than that of Fujian's chief envoy.It is really rare for San Niangzi to have this face as a concubine.

Ms. Wang's face was dark for a few days, and she suddenly smiled again: Although the Eldest Master has been going to Xi Kefang for more than ten days, he has never let go of his marriage.

Originally, it was also true, how could a decision be made without the presence of the mistress?

"Si Yiniang thinks that this marriage is safe, but she doesn't think about it. The Wang family is domineering in Fujian... It's like the emperor of the earth. Last month, Zheng Changchun, the younger brother of the crown prince Changshi Zheng Changqing, just committed a small incident, and they made a fuss. Those who turned against Yingtian were saying that the Zheng family was bullying and dominating the market, and that Zheng Changchun was so lustful that he vomited blood out of anger... a man as cautious as the master, would let go of the marriage so easily?"

When Ms. Wang and Li Chun said this, they felt a little proud.

Because Qiniangzi is very clear about the struggle here, Mama Wang and Lichun sometimes come to talk in Dongli Room, avoiding Brother Jiu's eyes and ears, and can stay in the same room with him.

Now Brother Nine goes in and out, and is always accompanied by Mama Wang, and when Mama Wang walks away by chance, Li Chun will definitely stay by the side.

Whether it's Xiaoxue or Chushu, they can't touch Brother Jiu's diet.The dishes made by Mrs. Cao in the small kitchen were brought from the kitchen to the West Side Courtyard by Li Chun herself.

Fourth Yiniang may reach out to Brother Jiu if she is happy with the marriage.But the inside and outside of the main courtyard are managed by the eldest wife like an iron bucket, and it is not so easy for her to reach in!

It is now the end of June, and the eldest wife may leave for Suzhou at any time. When she sent a letter back last time, she already hinted that Mrs. Xu, Duke of Pingguo, might go to the south of the Yangtze River with her to pay respects to the Xu family's ancestor's grave in Yangzhou.

He actually invited Mrs. Xu!

Although the Xu family is now rooted in the capital, their hometown is in Yangzhou. Now Yangzhou still has clan fields and clan members. Except for the generations of Ping Guogong who were buried with Jingling, the family has to return to their hometown for any birth, old age, sickness and death over the years. buried in Yangzhou.

Since the eldest wife married into the Yang family, she has been away from the capital. For many years, she has no family members who can move around. Now it is difficult for Mrs. Xu to go to the south of the Yangtze River to do business. Of course, she will stay in Suzhou for a longer period of time. , I also sent a letter to Ping Guogong himself, asking Mrs. Xu to come to Suzhou as a guest.It is certain that Mrs. Xu will settle in Suzhou.

With the support of her natal family, the eldest wife is confident enough. When the time comes, the second wife may have to suffer.Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xu loves her sister so much, and travels thousands of miles just to support her.

So what if the third lady's marriage is settled?From betrothal gift to dowry...there are so many places where the Fourth Aunt will lose face!
Gradually, Ms. Wang didn't take this matter to heart. She was always worried about Brother Jiu's safety inside and out.Even the elder asked Brother Nine to go to the outer study to teach him to read, and Mama Wang followed her to the outer courtyard with the audacity to do so.

Ginger is old and spicy.

Seventh Lady thought quietly.

If the eldest wife is here, it's okay, most of them are excuses to refuse the marriage.Although the Wang family and the Yang family walked frequently, Mr. Yang might not be very fond of the Wang family's way of doing things.

With the eldest wife absent, no one in the main courtyard can speak on this matter.

It's better to be more unrestrained, and simply let the fourth aunt jump up and down to work, and sell well in front of the old man, so that he knows that the main courtyard has never had any bad intentions for the third lady.

Protecting Brother Jiu wholeheartedly is protecting the lifeblood of the eldest wife.

He even got up to the Grand Master...

The old man is not a fool, wouldn't he notice something wrong?Although the people in the main courtyard took Brother Jiu very closely, they had never been so close.

This laid the groundwork for future attacks on Fourth Aunt.

In private, Ms. Wang even found evidence of the second wife's relationship with the Wang family and the Li family.

"When the Wang family passed through Suzhou in February, a few salt merchants invited guests, and the second wife would always come. The Li family was there at that time..."

"It can be regarded as calm, and it took several months before this matter was brought to the Elder Master."

Lichun agrees with Wang Mama.

Seventh Lady raised her eyes, and asked with a smile, "Mother Wang, what do you think my wife means by this matter?"

"That's really hard to say." Mother Wang's attitude towards Seventh Lady was a little more casual.

Although not as respectful as before, this casualness proved that Mama Wang had let her guard down a little.

After all, there is some connection. At that time, Qin Niangzi was brought to the main courtyard by her... In the past few months, we have gone through all these ups and downs together, and it is easy to feel like we are in the same boat.

"It stands to reason that when the eldest wife is in the capital, she will also look for a marriage for the third lady. Although a concubine's marriage is nothing, but being able to marry in the capital is better than marrying in the south of the Yangtze River." Mama Wang pondered for a while. Analysis by Seven Lady.

Although Qin Niangzi is young, she is very clever and calm. Although she is sometimes a little inappropriately stupid, she can be reassuring.

Teach her a few more words, and she will know how to behave in front of the eldest wife.

"The Yang family already has a wide network of contacts in the south of the Yangtze River, but there are only a few relatives in the capital..." Mama Wang stopped short.

Seventh Lady nodded thoughtfully.

There are a lot of dignitaries in the capital, most of them are high-ranking and have many concubines, just find someone with a more complicated family and marry the third lady, what can the elder say?The dignitaries in the capital are all with nobles!

It is a good thing for the Yang family to be able to make a new in-law, but the third lady is far away from her mother's family, and the rules in the capital are strict, and she will marry a bastard, so it is certain that she will suffer.

After all, she is the aunt's mother, so there are many ways to deal with the concubine's daughter.So what if Fourth Aunt is favored again?It was easy for the eldest wife to ruin the life of the third lady.

Seventh Lady had no choice but to comfort herself from the bottom of her heart, "After all, she is soft-hearted, otherwise, she wouldn't have told First Lady such a good person."

Seeing that she seemed to understand, Mama Wang dialed again, "If Madam sends a letter at this time, she also mentions a marriage in the capital..."

Even if the elder likes the third lady, he still has to take care of the eldest wife's face, at least wait until she gets home before arranging the third lady's affairs.

The Wang family's visit to propose marriage can only be said to be the only chance for Fourth Aunt in this struggle.

It must have been a painstaking effort to arrange for someone to come to propose marriage when the eldest wife is not at home.

"Fourth aunt's luck is also good," Wang Mama still sighed, "At this moment, the wife is not here! It's lucky that she can arrange a matchmaker to come to the door at this time!"

Is it lucky?
Seventh Lady's heart skipped a beat.

In the blink of an eye, everything became clear.

Fourth Yiniang was extra courteous when Jiu Yiniang was seriously ill...it always puzzled her.

It turned out that from then on, Si Yiniang had already laid out her own situation.

#
Although the Grand Master still often goes to Xi Ke Fang to sit and sit, but it has been a long time since he stayed overnight.

Recently, he rarely went to Huanshawu, and spent most of his time sleeping in the outer courtyard.

Although San Niangzi still had that shy, timid and beaming lovable expression, she was often in a daze when she recited someone.Even in the morning class, I just lowered my head and scratched the paper in a daze.

Seventh lady has three points of sympathy for third lady.

Sixth Lady also whispered to Seventh Lady, "Although it's a good marriage, it's still uncertain whether it will work out when my wife comes back."

She also felt a little sympathetic, "Why doesn't Si Yiniang put in more effort—this is a lifetime thing, and I've done it for this sake, do you still care about taking one more step?"

Although Si Yiniang still seldom goes out of Xi Ke Fang, but the people in Baifang Garden can't help but focus on her.

The eldest wife was not there, and all the aunts lived reclusively. Seventh Lady went to Xiaoxiangxue for a few swings, and did not meet any other aunts. Only two or three times on the way back to the main courtyard, she saw the figure of the fourth aunt, or she was admiring the flowers. Or watching fish, with a dazed expression on his face, full of thoughts.

"I don't know who to show it to!" Wang's mother was very disdainful, "I'm so old, I thought I was a new Tongfang, and I could stand out with my beauty?"

Although the fourth aunt has a daughter who wants to talk about marriage, she still has a charming and charming posture.It's not like Wang's mother said that she is overconfident.

But the old man seldom enters the backyard these days, she really threw her pretty eyes at the blind man.

When it was almost July, the reply letter from the eldest wife also arrived.

He didn't say much in the letter, he only said that he had left for his hometown in mid-June, but he would first accompany Mrs. Xu to Yangzhou to pay homage to the ancestors, and then return to Suzhou with her.

The third lady's brows suddenly became more worried.

Ms. Wang also murmured that the eldest wife did not send her a special letter, so she couldn't help but make Wang's mother a little worried, fearing that she would lose the eldest wife's favor.

Qin Niangzi had no other thoughts, but took care of Brother Jiu more carefully.

Every morning, she went out with Brother Jiu, and after school, she no longer went with Liu Niangzi, but waited for Brother Jiu to come back together.

Brother Jiu felt a little uncomfortable with such strict protection.

"I'm not a three-year-old child." He muttered, but he also tasted something interesting, and rarely left the West Side Hospital.

When Lichun was on duty, he would take him to sit in the east room, gossip with Bailu and do needlework together.

Qin Niangzi and Jiu Ge practiced calligraphy head to head.

"What's the matter?" Ninth Brother saw that Li Chun was sitting far away, so he asked Seventh Lady in a low voice, "Even Xiaoxue and Chu Shu can only serve in the house, and at night Li Chun and Wang Mama will take turns going to bed?"

Seventh Lady just laughed and didn't speak.

"Don't tell me anything!" Brother Jiu was a little annoyed.

"You're still young." Seventh Lady replied helplessly.

Ninth brother knows too much, which is of no benefit to him. Although he is also a kid and precocious, but a child is too preoccupied, so he can't put all his mind on study. Besides, even if Ninth brother knows about Fourth Aunt and I can't do much about the second wife's affairs.He was already alienated enough to these two people.

"You and I were born together!" Brother Jiu puffed up his cheeks.

"Then I'm still your older sister." Seventh Lady said calmly.

Brother Jiu looked at her for a while, then lowered his head sullenly and continued to practice calligraphy.

The Eldest Master has always attached great importance to Ninth Brother's education, and not only often calls him to the outer courtyard to talk, but recently he often comes to the Western Side Yard to check on Ninth Brother's usual study.

"Although the Yang family is rich, if you fail to win the ranking, this wealth will eventually be taken away by others." He admonished Brother Nine in Xilijian, and his voice spread to Donglijian. "Don't rely on your mother to spoil you, so you don't know the heights of the sky and the earth, just focus on having fun. If you have free time, before the teacher gives a lecture, memorize the Four Books and Five Classics first, so that the teacher will not sue me again, saying that you are a slow learner!"

Seventh Lady was secretly startled when she heard this.

Although the Elder Master is strict, what he said is indeed the most reasonable. The Yang family only has the only seedling of Ninth Brother. Don't look at the wealth and wealth now. If Ninth Brother fails to become an official in the future, this floating wealth can be kept for three or four points. It's pretty good.The future of the Yang family is in the hands of Brother Jiu alone.

But why did he suddenly care about brother Jiu so much?
It's not that the old man is indifferent, it's just that he is in charge of Jiangnan, with so many things in his hands, he rarely has the thought to focus on the back house.Especially in the past few years, the First Prince and the Crown Prince have fought fiercely. Sitting in the position of the First Master, one has to be careful and think hard about everything.Seventh Lady has been in the main courtyard for four or five months. In the past few months, the Eldest Master just asked about Ninth Brother's health, and occasionally called Second Lady and Third Lady to write poems and Fu, enjoying the family happiness.

Ms. Wang was quite calm about this, she just insisted on agreeing with the old man and told Brother Nine to study hard.

She definitely didn't tell the old man what Qinizi overheard... Seventh lady is from the main courtyard, even if she told the old man face to face, it would still be pouring dirty water on Sifang's head.Without real evidence, no one would act rashly.

Qin Niangzi thought again that every time the second wife came into Yang's house, the elder would take Brother Jiu away...

She suddenly understood Fourth Aunt's sense of urgency.

Although the Elder Master is very willing to part with San Niangzi, fundamentally, the most important thing in his heart is Brother Nine.

Ninth brother is the son of the main courtyard, and talking about the third wife's marriage over the eldest wife will undoubtedly embarrass the main courtyard.

Shame on the main courtyard is to embarrass Brother Nine...

Mrs. Xu is going to come back on the same boat with the eldest wife.

Regarding the marriage of the third lady, I am afraid that the Elder Master will not let go so easily.

The third lady's face became more and more gloomy, and her temper became more and more bad. Although she didn't lose her temper in front of the sisters, there were already many maids in Baifang Garden who got into trouble. faceless.

At the beginning of July, she suddenly suffered from the wind and cold again.I consulted doctors and medicines for a few days, but nothing got better. On July [-]rd, I developed a high fever.

(End of this chapter)