Chapter One
"My son is fine now, don't worry. But I heard that you fell off an ox cart in the first half of the year, were you injured?"
Madam Han had always spoken Mandarin in the mansion, but today she met Second Mistress and heard her speaking with a rural accent. Moreover, when Madam Han was still the daughter-in-law of the Jin family, she had been quite close to Second Mistress. As they chatted, they both used their local dialect. Everyone else present, except for Old Madam, found it hard to understand what they were saying. But Old Madam was delighted and also spoke in her local dialect. Before long, the three of them were chatting away in a lively manner, completely forgetting about the others waiting at the door.
Look at the three of them, who seem like a family. The big madam is so angry that she could spit blood, but she can only swallow this breath and step forward to say: "Mother, look, the lady has come from afar, why not go in and sit down to talk?"
The old lady came back to her senses and couldn't help but laugh: "We've had a good chat, but we've tired out the people around us."
After she finished speaking, she personally pulled the lady and Mrs. Han into the courtyard, only letting Madame Chen support her, her face becoming even darker.
Since the arrival of Madame Gou, the value of Auntie Han has risen sharply. The old lady also seemed to recall the days when she was in her hometown of Linqing, where the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law got along harmoniously, and the son was filial. At that time, the old master was still alive, the son was still young, and she could go out every day to visit relatives. At that time, she didn't have to think about dealing with a noble daughter-in-law all day long. At that time, her natal family was still...
As the old lady's gaze fell upon her, Han Yiniang may still have been as gentle and soft-spoken as ever, but the maidservants around her no longer dared to be as lazy as they had been before. This gave Han Yiniang's personal maid, Pan Tao, a sense of confidence, and also made Han Yiniang seem more vibrant than usual, with a smile often lingering on her face. However, she repeatedly told Jin Fenghua that if only she could return to Lin Qing, it would be good, even if not to her brother's house, but at least back to her familiar hometown, spending her days accompanied by the familiar scenery of the small town, and peacefully passing her twilight years.
Han Yiniang was doing well, and both Gu Taotao and Lao Taotai were delighted. However, Dafuren couldn't help but look at this harmonious scene with a mixture of emotions, unable to express her feelings or scold anyone. In the end, she simply used the excuse of the upcoming New Year's festival to avoid everyone, causing the maidservants in the main house to live in fear, worried that Dafuren would find fault with them.
Lü'er was punished several times for being lazy and careless, which ground away at her lively and spirited nature.
The New Year's gift, even the poor people in Pei State need to send their saved food to relatives and friends at this moment to show respect. Let alone the Jin family, who is a high-ranking official in the imperial court. In addition to his superior, there are also officials who work with him, as well as noble families who have connections with them. Of course, they cannot forget the maternal family of the madam and the old relatives of the Jin family. However, the younger brother of the old master is not among those who need to be considered, since he has been separated from the family and does not need to be dealt with. Moreover, his mother is still alive, but the old lady has never liked him, so the old master also ignores him. This year, however, the madam did not forget to send a gift to the Cao family. Since the two families have already reached an agreement on the marriage, after the New Year, they will privately exchange gifts and next year in the second half of the year, the Cao family's daughter will come over as a bride.
The lady needs to prepare the annual gift, and even if someone like Chen's servant is busy, she won't forget to prepare it privately. Logically speaking, since Chen's servant has been married into the Jin family, she should have nothing to do with the Chen family anymore. However, Xian Yi knows that not only does Chen's servant take care of things in the Jin family, but also maintains a good relationship with those who are close to her in the Chen family, including those who now hold high positions. She hasn't forgotten them and sends gifts according to the seasons and festivals, and also keeps in touch with them on ordinary days. Chen's servant does this without avoiding the lady, probably because the lady doesn't want to cut ties with her natal family either, so she naturally tolerates it.
During the New Year, the treatment of the lower people is also better than usual. Not only did they receive an extra set of clothes, but they also received some reward money. Xian Yi has always been favored by the mistress and has never gone on an errand before, so every year she would receive some silver coins. This year was no exception. In addition to this, the big mistress also rewarded Xian Yi with a set of silver hairpins, which is a treatment that even the big girls didn't have. However, whether it's the big girls or Xiuzhu, they've all gotten used to it since Xian Yi was little, and the mistress has always liked her very much. The things she rewards are beyond what others can hope for, let alone those maids who are just envious but can't say anything sour because of their own inferior status.
However, it's not just Xian Yi who received special treatment. I heard that the old lady was particularly generous this year, not only taking out her old stock but also giving a share to the eldest granddaughter of Madame Gou, as well as Han Niang, who had always been simple and unadorned. Without saying whether the old lady's actions were impulsive or not, it's clear that even Xian Yi felt that this matter was not handled properly. After all, Madame Gou is her legitimate daughter-in-law now. If the old lady truly cared about Han Niang, she shouldn't have used Han Niang as a target to provoke Madame Gou. And Madame Gou shouldn't be at odds with Madame Gou either. At least she still hopes that Madame Gou will find a good match for her eldest grandson. It's probably because Madame Gou has limited vision and thinks that by controlling the old master, she can also control Madame Gou. But marriage in the capital is also subject to certain rules. What if Madame Gou finds someone with a golden future, but turns out to be a failure? By then, Madame Gou will have no one to turn to for help.
On this day, Madame was arranging the menu for the New Year's banquet when she saw Chen Ayi happily coming in and saying: "Madame, Big Miss has come to give you a New Year's gift."
The madam put down the menu and stood up unconsciously, saying: "Who is coming?"
"It's from the Ma family, waiting outside to pay their respects to the mistress." Old Lady Chen handed the gift list to Madame Wang.
The madam merely glanced at it briefly and put it down with satisfaction. This year's New Year's gift seems to be a bit thicker than last year's.
"Let her in."
The daughter-in-law of the Ma family, who had been married off with the eldest daughter, walked in cautiously. She was one of the first batch of people bought into the Jin Manor after it was established, and could be considered an old-timer of the Jin Manor. Later, the mistress arranged for her to marry into the Ma family, and the couple followed the eldest daughter to the Right Chancellor's manor. However, the parents of the Ma family's daughter-in-law remained in the Jin Manor to manage affairs. The Ma family's daughter-in-law naturally did not dare to be negligent, and respectfully paid her respects before standing aside to wait for the mistress to ask questions.
The madam first gave a reward and then asked eagerly: "How's your grandmother?"
"Old lady is now eating and drinking well, the days of hardship are short, experienced women all say that our old lady has great fortune." Ma Niangzi's temperament is honest and thick, she also knows to pick good things to say.
"How's your husband?" The old lady had some questions that were hard to ask, after all, a mother-in-law asking about her son-in-law's private life would be embarrassing. But if she didn't ask, she would always be wondering, so she asked vaguely like this.
The mother-in-law is also a clever one, and immediately replied: "Our master is a loving husband, except for the day that Jing Niang went to her room, he hasn't gone to any other room since then. He's been keeping our eldest lady company all along. It's true that our eldest lady is virtuous, but she pushed him away several times. However, our master has a stubborn temper and still sleeps in the main bedroom until now."
"Ah! This young couple..." The madam covered her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled. Although Chun Jing was the one who wanted to leave, she didn't want her to ruin her husband's temperament. Now that she had received the letter, she finally felt at ease.
The lady of the house asked a few more questions about the daily life and habits of the eldest young mistress, then let Madam Ma go, and even specially left her some food and New Year's gifts from Chen Mama, and saw her off with great enthusiasm.
The old lady turned her head and asked Chen Nian'er: "What did the old woman say to Big Miss?"
"The servant girl asked, saying that it was a matter of her mother-in-law's family that had been stirred up, and even the people in the palace knew about it......" Chen Ayi leaned in and whispered: "I heard that the Taibao Temple Shaoqing actually sent his concubine to the home of the imperial concubine's mother, resulting in two men fighting over one woman, which is not a good sight."
"I knew something would go wrong, a family like theirs that has no shame, regardless of whether it's the son or daughter, they're all tainted. Even the prostitutes in the brothel have some integrity. If they could find someone...it would be strange." The madam first sneered coldly, then realized this wasn't suitable and avoided continuing, but still managed to get in a jab: "Just a horse groomer's servant, thinking he can lord over our daughter? I really don't know what the Right Chancellor was thinking, marrying such a woman from a family like that."
This was something that Chen's mother couldn't accept. The Taipu Temple's Shaoqing had once married a county princess, and in the previous emperor's time, they had also enjoyed great glory. However, their children were unfilial and didn't amount to anything, so in the end, they could only rely on the lingering influence of their ancestors to get such a mediocre position. It was likely that when Taipu Temple Shaoqing's mother was still alive, the household wasn't as chaotic as it was now. But after the old lady passed away, Taipu Temple Shaoqing's wife turned out to be a jealous and overbearing person, which ultimately led to this scandalous affair. However, this matter had nothing to do with the eldest daughter, and on the contrary, it might even be a good thing. It was likely that after the eldest daughter gave birth to her child, the Right Chancellor's household would have to change its master.
The master and servant were talking when the old master brought in the second young master. The madam saw that the old master looked refreshed and thought it was strange, thinking that he should have been promoted long ago, but didn't know what good thing had happened to him this time. She then shifted her gaze to her own second son.
Jinmu shook his head, he had just come from the front yard, originally to visit his mother and chat with her, but coincidentally met his father who was going out early, and the two of them entered the main house together.
"Don't bother looking at him, he won't know anyway." The old master sat down in the chair and directly said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, it is intended that next year the Secretariat will be abolished and its power returned to the Six Ministries."
