The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 42

After these words, Qin Niangzi lowered her head and walked through the arch, heading towards Siyi Pavilion.

After walking a few steps, she was suddenly pulled back.

Someone pushed her head down, forcing her to pass through the arch and stand where she had been.

Seventh Lady hurriedly covered the jewelry on her head and glared at Xu Fengjia angrily.

Xu Fengjia's eyes flickered with obvious anger.

The boy was like wildfire, as if it would not stop until it burned everything it touched.A little provocation can make him fly into a rage, and Danfeng's eyes are as bright as glass in a fire, so hot that they are about to melt.

"A mere concubine..." He muttered softly. "That's not a small amount of courage!"

Seventh Lady stared coldly at Xu Fengjia.

The displeasure flowing in the eyes is self-evident.

Even if Xu Fengjia looked down on the concubine again, she shouldn't have said that.Some things, even though everyone knows them, hurt to say them.

"Cousin dare to speak louder?"

She didn't move, she was still standing on the edge of the cliff.

It's one thing to play around, it's another to push my cousin off the rockery.

Although Xu Fengjia is barbaric, he is not stupid. He would not do such a thing in front of so many elders.

What I said before was nothing more than trying to scare her.

If it was Liu Niangzi, I'm afraid she would have believed it, and she would start crying.

But if Qi Niangzi would eat such false threats, then she would not be Qi Niangzi.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Xu Fengjia pondered, obviously, he did not intend to push Qiniangzi down the rockery.

Suddenly his eyes lit up, he reached into his arms, took out an object, and waved it in front of Qiniangzi's eyes.

The fire suddenly brightened.

Qin Niangzi couldn't help being startled, and retreated reflexively.

There was heat in her wrist, but Xu Fengjia grabbed her hand again.

Qin Niangzi, who was about to step on the ground, was held back by Xu Fengjia.

The two looked at each other, both a little scared.

If it falls, it's no joke.

Qin Niangzi thanked reluctantly, "Thank you cousin for helping me." She was about to hide in the cliff.

Xu Fengjia also let her go, but she didn't intend to let go.With a casual push, Qin Niangzi leaned against the Taihu Stone involuntarily.

"I'm not afraid of heights, I'm not afraid of bugs...you're always afraid of fire, right?" Xu Fengjia's voice was still so slow.He soon followed and got close to Qin Niangzi.

The interest in his eyes was clearly visible.

He shook the fire pocket again, and a little spark lit up.

A little panic finally appeared in Qin Niangzi's eyes.

Xu Fengjia's eyes flashed with pride. "Are you afraid of something too?"

They were very close, his voice rang in Qiniangzi's ears in a low voice, with a slightly raised end, and a smile.

Qin Niangzi watched Xu Fengjia's hand gradually approaching, and the little flame approached her clothes, and finally sighed.

You have to give up.

Delicate dresses can't stand the fire.

She only had a few sets of clothes made by Xianxiufang, and suddenly one piece was missing, it would be a lie to say that she didn't feel distressed.When the eldest lady asked, it was hard to explain.

Brother Jiu's voice suddenly sounded behind the two of them.

"Careful, it's high here, falling down is no joke!"

He supported the lake stone and said with a smile.

Xu Fengjia was taken aback, and couldn't help but backed away.

Qin Niangzi shook off Xu Fengjia.

"Let's go find Fifth Sister and Second Sister!" She smiled and grabbed Brother Nine.

Ninth Brother's eyes were still circling the Huo Zhe in Xu Fengjia's hand.

Qin Niangzi tugged a few times before he walked away with his sister.

Xu Fengjia stood where she was, staring at Qin Niangzi's back, unavoidably a little bit annoyed.

"Feng Jia." Mrs. Xu raised her voice and called out, "What are you doing standing there, come over and have some snacks."

He also restrained his expression and walked into the Siyi Pavilion.

#
After turning a few turns and descending the steps again, brother Jiu's face darkened.

"He bullied you?" He asked Seventh Lady.

His tone was low and resentful.

Seventh Lady didn't want to say anything more.

Although Ninth Brother and Xu Fengjia are relatives, they are still separated by a layer. They are not direct cousins, so the relationship between the two is close.

Xu Fengjia is the future Duke of Pingguo.

"No!" She smiled and shook her head.

Brother Jiu looked suspicious.

Seventh Lady could only sigh, "Your Seventh Sister is not so easy to be bullied."

Ninth brother was skeptical and didn't bring up this embarrassing topic again.

The second lady and the fifth lady sat on stone benches and chairs to watch the fish, holding petals to tease the fat koi.

The siblings talked for a while, and Xu Fengjia came over again.

"Fifth Cousin." He smiled and waved to Fifth Lady, as if he hadn't seen Seventh Lady.

Wu Niangzi abandoned her siblings and ran away with Xu Fengjia.

Ninth Brother couldn't help being jealous, "Fifth Sister and Cousin really hit it off."

Second Lady and Seventh Lady looked at each other, but neither of them answered.

She's still young now, and when she's grown up in a few years, she's going to propose marriage.

Although Qi Niangzi didn't know that Madam Xu intended to let Wu Niangzi be her daughter-in-law, she also knew that it was not easy to talk about Brother Nine.

When Fifth Lady came back, she looked carefully at Seventh Lady, her eyes shone brightly and she hid her smile.

When it was time to eat, everyone went down the rockery together and walked towards Zhu Yingtai.

The chrysanthemums outside Zhu Yingtai are more than half in bloom, in various poses and with different expressions, extremely beautiful.

"Cousin asked me about you for a long time!" Wu Niangzi pulled Qi Niangzi a few steps back, and bit her ear. "What did he do to you just now? Next time I advise you to be soft and let it go. Don't stir up my cousin's temper. Instead... I think you are a smart person! I didn't expect you to be so stubborn! Just now you shouldn't Against his will..."

Seventh Lady looked at Fifth Lady.

Fifth Lady's eyes were really concerned.

"If my cousin looked like a cousin, I would have given in a long time ago." Seventh Lady said calmly.

There is an inviolable taste in the tone of voice.

Fifth Lady was startled.

She looked at Qin Niangzi with a little more respect.

"It's up to you." After all, he was still a little dissatisfied, "When the time comes, don't cry for me!"

After finishing speaking, he ran to the front to find the second lady.

Seventh Lady bit her lip, holding back the words of rebuttal.

I still have to bear it... I couldn't help it for a while, and this troublesome thing happened.

Still have to endure.

She smiled, took a few steps forward, and caught up with Liu Niangzi.

#
After the Double Ninth Festival, everyone's life seems to be back on track.

When Xu Fengjia saw Qin Niangzi, he always had a bad face.

Seventh Lady is at ease, when Xu Fengjia is air.

Mrs. Xu was still socializing around as usual, but the eldest wife said that she would prepare a dowry for the second lady, and asked the second wife to accompany Mrs. Xu to go out, and stayed at home by herself.

"I'll be lazy for two days too!" She joked with the elder.

The time has come for the second lady's dowry to be collected.

Since getting married a few years ago, I have bought a lot of good things intermittently, and some of them are still in the small warehouse. Now I will pack them up, wrap them in red cloth, and wait to be shipped on board and sent to the capital.

The auspicious day for Er Niangzi to get married is the first day of the twelfth lunar month, but the capital city is far away from Suzhou. Around the beginning of November, the Sun family's wedding team will arrive in Suzhou, come to marry Er Niangzi, take the waterway to the capital, and then formally pay homage.

The government has been discussing the second lady's dowry for several days.

The first-time lady who got married earlier, not to mention the cash, the clothes and jewelry alone were worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. The eldest wife also accompanied her with two shops and a farm of more than a hundred hectares.

Everyone said that this dowry could be compared to half of the Li family's property. Although the eldest wife never commented on it, but as the Li family, this dowry was very generous.

But the Sun family is different, Dingguohou has been rich for generations, and the second wife is the future wife of Dingguohou, this dowry is indeed not light.

Even with this preparation, everyone was taken aback when the dowry amount came out.

"The clothing and jewelry cost 3 taels of silver... This is not a big deal. I heard that the eldest lady intends to transfer Jiangbei's Xianxiufang to the second lady's name." Bai Lu learned from Seventh Lady, "There are 10,000+ here. Family business!"

Xianxiufang is the dowry of the eldest wife. When she got married, Xianxiufang was just two shops and more than ten embroiderers.

As the elder was promoted step by step, Xianxiufang gradually became one of the few embroidery houses in the south of the Yangtze River, and at least 6 to [-] taels of silver were recorded in the account a year.

If the eldest wife doesn't accompany her daughter, is she going to leave it to Brother Nine's daughter-in-law in the future?
Seventh Lady took it lightly.

The third lady was very jealous.

It's time to buy a dowry...Even if Fourth Aunt has a private house, it can't compare to Xianxiufang.

The old man also had some criticisms.

"It's too extravagant." Complained to the eldest wife, "Except for Xianxiufang, there is also Tianzhuang... Is this dowry worth 20 taels of silver?"

The second lady has so much dowry, and the fifth lady, at least to say the same, wants a share, which is 40 taels of silver.

It costs 5 taels of silver to accompany the first lady, and the Yang family has four concubine daughters, so no matter what, they will have to pay another 20 taels of silver.

And Brother Nine gets married again... The marriage of the daughter here will cost 100 million taels of silver.

Even if the Yang family's family affairs are rich, they can't bear such a toss.

The eldest lady was unmoved.

"Xianxiufang is my dowry." She reminded the elder. "The dowry of the second lady came from the officials, and it was only 10 taels."

The dowry of a concubine's daughter is twice that of a concubine's daughter, which is not too wasteful.

"Besides... the first lady is also a concubine from the main courtyard." The eldest wife lowered her head again, "Of course she is more decent than other concubine daughters."

The old man's face darkened instantly.

This means that you don't intend to give the third lady, fourth lady, and sixth lady the same dignity?
But Xianxiufang is the dowry of the eldest wife, even if the eldest wife is willing to throw it in the water, the elder can't say anything.

"You also want to leave some private room for Brother Jiu's wife?" He said slowly.

The eldest wife was very unhappy.

"When I came here as a dowry, the 10 taels of cash I brought with me have been used to subsidize the family over the years. Several acres of farms, and many of the harvests over the years have also entered the government treasury."

This is talking about before the elder master did not become a Jinshi, the elder wife used the dowry to make up for it outside the house.

"The only Xianxiufang is still by my side... In the future, Brother Ninth's daughter-in-law will naturally have her as a dowry." She had a half-smile.

The old man didn't say anything.

What else can I say?
Every now and then, the eldest wife will bring out the events of the year to suppress people.

I don't want to say any more.

A few days later, Fourth Aunt sent people back and forth: the Elder Master accepted Shuang Jiang.

The new appointment of the maid of the house, is indeed to tell the eldest wife, so as not to send her out in a muddleheaded way when she gets married.

The eldest wife was so angry that she couldn't even eat lunch.

In the afternoon, leave Seventh Lady in the main courtyard to talk with her.

"...Just replied a few words, just flirted with me like this, and deliberately flattered the people in the four houses." The eldest wife had a look of displeasure.

These words can only be said to Qin Niangzi, the eldest wife is so strong, and she doesn't want to tell Mrs. Xu about the troubles at home.

Seventh Lady could not help but sigh.

The old man is indeed too brazen.

When the eldest wife married into the Yang family, she simply gave the elder a chance to stand up.

There are a lot of people admitted to Jinshi, and many of them have real skills. Without the care of the Qin family, how can the old man get to where he is today?
But when she is proud, she has a different attitude towards the eldest wife...how can the eldest wife not be disappointed.

"Mother, don't be too angry." She hesitated to speak with a full face.

The eldest wife saw it, and felt a little more intimate in her heart.

Er Niangzi's disposition is too deserted, and she can't feel her own suffering.

In her opinion, being a housewife should act impartially...

Well, it would be nice if everything was that simple.

Fifth Lady was so naive, she couldn't understand such a thing at all.

After the first lady got married, there was Seventh Lady who was exquisitely carved by her side, so she could relieve her worries a little.

"It's true that we can share weal and woe, but we can't share wealth." She complained again, "I earned the Yang family's family affairs with one hand and one foot. How did he take care of these things? Have I ever hugged a little private house for myself? Even a Xianxiufang will not let it go, I wish I could accompany the third lady to make a dowry, it's a good idea!"

Seventh Lady's heart skipped a beat.

"Sifang is running hard for the dowry now." She said softly.

The eldest lady gradually calmed down.

Taste the words of Seventh Lady.

The Elder Master suddenly complained about the Second Lady's dowry, of course it was not for nothing.

Speaking of which, the second lady has always been very fond of him, and the eldest wife is willing to accompany her to give more dowry, as long as it is used from her own private money, the elder will not say anything more.

Thinking about it, Sifang was the only one who didn't know that the Wang family's marriage had failed, so he planned ahead and began to worry about the dowry.

The eldest wife's anger dissipated immediately, and she smiled.

"That's good, let Sifang dance around for a while longer."

She patted Seventh Lady's knee lovingly. "It's still us Xiao Qi who is quick and quick to see things."

The eldest wife even used idioms.

Seventh Lady pursed her lips and smiled.

However, if Fourth Aunt continues to jump, it will inevitably hinder Mrs. Xu's eyes.The eldest lady pondered for a moment, then asked again, "Tell me, when will I let Fourth Aunt do this?"

Before she knew it, her tone was less rusty and more casual.

Seventh Lady was a little confused.

"There are still guests here, so let Auntie come out and walk around, isn't it a little reckless?"

She gently reminded the eldest wife that the fight between wives and concubines need not be exposed in front of Mrs. Xu.

With the eldest wife's strong personality, if she doesn't remind her, she will inevitably get angry again.

The eldest lady wanted to explain and talk about Mrs. Xu's reason for coming.

I also feel that at Xiaoqi's age, he may not be able to understand the twists and turns inside.

"It's okay, it's my third sister, she won't say anything." She evaded it perfunctorily.

Seventh Lady stopped talking.

The eldest wife obviously had other plans.

It seems that although she has gained the initial trust of her aunt, she is not qualified to know the deeper things.

"Look at our main room, is it necessary to promote another roommate?" The eldest wife asked again.

Obviously, she didn't intend to continue talking about this topic.

Seventh Lady's heart tightened.

With Shuang Jiang in the fourth house, it seems that the main house shouldn't show weakness, and wants to pick up a girl to fight against Shuang Jiang.

Speaking of which, the elder also showed interest in Lichun.If the eldest wife mentions this to the elder, there is no guarantee that the elder will not push the boat along the way and ask for Lichun...

(End of this chapter)