Chapter 63
When the golden wind and flower had finished their exams, Xian Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had only read about ancient imperial examinations in books or seen them depicted in paintings, but actually being there in person made her realize the perseverance and hardship required for such an ordeal. During Golden Wind and Flower's exam period, no one from the second house disturbed them. Now that the institute exams were over but the results had not been announced yet, the people coming and going at the Jin residence were all young members of the Jin family. Xian Yi took this opportunity to meet with the eldest lady of the first house, whom she had not seen since last time. The eldest grandson of the first house was born weak and frail, and he spent most of his days in his own courtyard. He rarely appeared even during festivals and holidays. However, the old lady Zhang of the first house doted on her eldest grandson and arranged for him to marry a daughter from the Jiang family, who were relatives of theirs. Although the Jiangs were not a prominent clan, they were still a respectable family with a governor in their ranks. Jiang Shi was the eldest daughter of the fourth house of the Jiang family, and her grandmother and old lady Zhang were cousins. So even though the eldest grandson's health was poor, he still married the eldest daughter of the Jiang family. However, after several years of marriage, they still had no children.
The Xianyi can see that the old lady of the main house is a woman with an extremely strong desire for control, from the way she treats her husband to her daughter-in-law. The second wife is the old lady's niece, and the third wife is the old lady's cousin's daughter. Both are relatives of the old lady's natal family, so it can be said that if there were no conflicts of interest among them, these three would definitely present a united front to outsiders. As daughters-in-law, they usually try to curry favor with the old lady, after all, she holds the title of "eldest brother's wife" and is their mother-in-law. However, in Xianyi's opinion, this is probably just a temporary balance for the main house, because the second young master of the main house is still in the army camp and will be 17 years old this year. Soon, the main house will welcome a new young wife, and then it will depend on where the old lady finds another woman with connections to join forces with her daughter-in-law. However, as the saying goes, "a woman marries into a Han family, wears clothes and eats food", plus the eldest son is weak, and the second son is about to embark on a military career with a promising future. It's hard to say whether the main house can remain peaceful like this in the future. After all, what the old master left behind is not just houses.
The Jiang family's daughter-in-law, who was about twenty years old, seemed to be fond of Yu Ge because she didn't have children. Although her appearance was only delicate and pretty, not many girls from good families were bold and outgoing. At this time, Xian Yi finally realized the importance of what Mrs. Jiang had taught her. It's not that modern people inherently possess a certain air about them; perhaps some do, but the vast majority of ordinary people are just common folk, and they haven't received as much etiquette education as ancient people did. Even if a time-traveler didn't appear to be timid and looked poised, if they were actually a master, they would not be able to handle social interactions properly. After all, modern people and ancient people receive different educations from a young age, which is why ancient aristocratic families spent a lot of money hiring tutors or palace ladies to teach their daughters. In this day and age, it's embarrassing when someone compares unfavorably to others. If a family marries a rough and unrefined daughter-in-law, even the husband's family will be affected by bad luck.
"The garden is indeed well-maintained, it's enviable just by looking at it." Jiang's visit was absolutely not as simple as a ordinary greeting. She knew the thoughts of the old lady in her own home better than her own mother-in-law did. Although the first wife was the old lady's niece, after all those years of observation, she knew that the first wife sometimes couldn't handle big things and would easily get confused about what was important, and even more so because of her high status, looked down on others. Just like when the second wife brought back their son to pay respects with tea, the mother-in-law actually gave them a look in front of everyone, you can tell what kind of person she is.
"Where, I'm afraid the second sister's courtyard is much stronger than ours. Ours is just a novelty, but there's not much difference between the other courtyards." Jiang's words were exploratory, after all, this garden was indeed good, if Xian Yi was just a vain and proud little maid, she would have shown some pride at this moment, but Xian Yi not only had an ordinary expression, but also cut off the topic of comparing the second house's courtyard to the other houses, saying that the courtyard was only newly built, looking fresh, but not necessarily good enough to be envied.
Jiang didn't show any signs of being impressed, but she couldn't help sneaking a few more glances at Xianyi. Not to mention the maids in her husband's household, even those from her own family had been looked down upon by her before. But someone like Xianyi was truly a rare sight. No wonder there hadn't been any news from the second mistress of the third house since she returned from Linqing last time. This was Jiang's first meeting with Xianyi, and despite their age difference, Jiang couldn't gain the upper hand in their conversation. Not to mention her background, from a small courtyard to a large mansion, without a hint of fear... No wonder the old lady wanted her to make a trip.
"Let's put it this way, you've been here for a few days now. Have you been living comfortably? Eating well? If there's anything on your mind, just let me know. The second house hasn't had a master in years, and now that you're here, don't be shy about making yourselves at home. After all, you are the masters." Madam Chiang said with a seemingly sincere tone.
Xian Yi smiled secretly, this was the first time they met and already provoked a conflict. If there's anything going on with the second house, it's their own business, and has nothing to do with the main house interfering. Besides, if something really happened, they should find the main house to take charge, how would the third house think? Moreover, all the servants in the second house are old people, if she and Jin Fenghua dared to order these old slaves around, not to mention what their masters would think, even the children born in this mansion would feel uneasy. She couldn't help Jin Fenghua with other things, but one thing was certain - she wouldn't drag Jin Fenghua down in the matters of this mansion.
"There's nothing wrong with that, the old folks in the house are all seniors in front of their ancestors, and husband is also the grandson of his grandfather. The people in this house, even if they don't look at the monk's face, must look at the Buddha's face. Besides, there's also Manager Yan. Elder sister, you see that the garden is good, it's because the servants take care of it well. These people were all sent by Manager Yan, which saved my heart." Xian Yi understood why Jin Fenghua trusted the people sent by Manager Yan, not for anything else, but just to look good on the surface, and to avoid others' gossip was also worth it.
Since the second mistress and her husband are of one mind, Jiang didn't have much to say. However, she couldn't help but feel a little admiration for them. After all, Yan Zongguan was still young and shouldn't be controlled by an old servant like him. Yet, he dared to use Yan's people. If it were her, she would have taken control of the second mistress's things long ago. But as far as she knew, the second mistress's belongings were still in Yan Zongguan's hands. Even the second mistress's household, except for this garden, was left unmanaged by Yao Xianyi, leaving everything to Yan Zongguan. Jiang wondered if it was because Yao had a small heart or could remain calm and patient. She thought she needed to observe further.
The two of them drank tea for a while, and Jiang Shi put the behavior and attitude of the slaves beside her in her eyes. She was somewhat uncertain in her heart. After all, these two people were outsiders, and when they came to the big house, it wasn't that they wouldn't make mistakes, but at least these old slaves would be difficult to clean up. However, she sat for half a day and saw that not only did someone do things quickly according to her sister's instructions, but also the faces of these slaves didn't reveal any impatience or disdain. This made Jiang Shi, who was used to seeing servants look down on her, feel surprised.
Jiang didn't stay for long and bid farewell, this time they met briefly, but it was enough to let her go back and report, I suppose the old lady would have other ideas in mind again.
Watching Jiang leaving, Xian Yi said to Bi Xi beside her: "Everyone who came to serve today will be given 100 coins as a reward."
No, the ones who came to serve today were all selected by Manager Yan. They usually serve in the outer courtyard, but today they were specially transferred to the inner courtyard for Madam Jiang's visit. They are all familiar maids of Madam Jiang's. In fact, it's not too difficult to make them obedient. After all, she doesn't expect these people to be loyal to her. People are all working for money, as long as they do a good job, she will pay them more, and she won't try to curry favor with anyone in order to compete with Manager Yan for power. She has a strong personality, the maids have money to earn, who would bother to find trouble with their master? Besides, the people selected by Manager Yan are indeed reliable, at least they can be seen from their quality, and it's not in vain that Madam Jiang trusts him.
After putting away the things, Jin Fenghua returned with his friends. Xianyi didn't find it strange as Jin Fenghua was cold by nature, but he always had a different attitude on the surface and in reality. Every time they went to a new place, there would be some friends, not many, but all of them were people who would benefit Jin Fenghua in the future. Moreover, Jin Fenghua never visited brothels or taverns, nor did he drink with so-called friends until midnight. So Xianyi just heard about it and let others prepare wine and dishes, without paying much attention to it.
"You want me to go ahead?" Xian Yi was changing Yu Ge's clothes, it had gotten hot and Yu Ge was being restless again, in just a short while his clothes were soaked through.
"It's not possible, Guan Qi personally came to invite her, saying that he wanted the young lady to meet his friend." Bi Xi also found it strange, as the young master disliked men seeing the young lady's appearance, but now he was being so proactive.
Xian Yi hesitated for a moment, then changed her clothes and took Bi Xi to the front garden. It was hot at this time, probably in the water pavilion.
Jin Fenghua invited today is the young man who bumped into him on the day of the imperial examination. After the exam, they met again and chatted about the imperial examination questions for a while. The other party considered himself to be a kindred spirit and had been in contact with him frequently over the past few days. This time, he invited this person to come home as a guest. As for inviting Xianyi over, it was actually his own little idea.
"This is Spring Sheng, whom I met during the imperial examination. We are destined to be together." Jin Fenghua saw Xian Yi wearing a lotus-flower dress with a sweet fragrance, and her white jade hairpin adorned with pearls, which immediately made him regret letting her come.
"Good siblings." Yu Chun stood up and bowed, his mind racing with doubts. How could this couple be just like the people in the painting? The man's long, evil appearance he had gotten used to, but this little woman was sweet and lovely. The two of them standing together, neither overshadowing the other, was indeed a strange thing.
Xian Yi hastily returned the gift, and with an unclear glance at Jin Fenghua, Jin Fenghua had already regretted it. However, on the surface, she still held Xian Yi's hand and walked to You Chunsheng's side, saying a few words. Before long, she let Bi Xi send Xian Yi back, leaving Xian Yi full of question marks, unable to understand why Jin Fenghua had called her out.
