On the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Mei Niang and Ning Rulan had been busy in Ziyun Hall for the whole morning. Just as the chores were settled, the stewards had all left. Seeing that it was still early and snowflakes were still falling outside, the two of them sat by the fire, feeling warm and in no hurry to leave. They sent the servants and maids away to warm themselves by the fire, and the two of them sat in the hall and talked leisurely.
Mei Niang smiled and said, "You've had enough at these weddings, haven't you? There have been five or six in a row. Have you ever gotten drunk? The year is full of joy, and you've been immersed in it every day, so you have to get a little bit of it!"
Ning Rulan stroked her knees and said, "My mother said so too. She also specifically told me to go back to my parents' home again yesterday. I thought she was going to do something, but she took me and Third Master to the ancestral temple to recite scriptures for a whole day. She said she went there specially to ask the monk to copy the good scriptures by hand. There were only a few hundred words in total, but she asked us to recite them 666 times. Who remembers how many times? My mother was also very meticulous. She only let us get up after she saw that we were almost kneeling. My legs were so numb that I could hardly walk!"
Mei Niang laughed so hard: "My dear wife is such a wonderful person!"
Ning Rulan also laughed, "We came back late last night, and the Third Master and I washed up in a hurry and went to the old lady's place. Mother also prepared a portion of the Shu local rituals for the old lady and the wife, and you and me. Didn't you suddenly like spicy food? This time you can eat as much as you want. Most of the snacks, dried meat, dried vegetables, sauces, etc. are too spicy to eat. I brought you some of each... There is also the newly arrived good autumn tea and some beautiful Shu embroidery. I will ask Jinshu to send them to Tsinghua Courtyard later."
She came closer and said, "There are also some very rare preserved fruits and snacks, which were sent by my newly married cousin's husband's family. My aunt brought some over, and my mother said that it was not too much, not too little, and there were three or four sisters-in-law in the family, so it was difficult to divide them, so she simply gave them to the two of us to enjoy slowly in our spare time."
Mei Niang smiled and said, "Madam-in-law is so kind. She actually let the two of us take advantage of her."
Ning Rulan had a proud look on her face: "I have three brothers and three sisters. I am the youngest and I am loved the most by my mother!"
Mei Niang looked at her carefully: "Yes, that's right, I can see it! With this appearance, you will have a good marriage and a prosperous life. Your mother is also a snob. She must have figured out that you have a good life, so she loves you more!"
Ning Rulan laughed and slapped her: "You are talking nonsense again!"
The two laughed and joked for a while, and Mei Niang suddenly remembered something and asked, "Why does your family have Shu land rituals? Did your ancestors come from there?"
Ning Rulan nodded: "My grandfather was born and raised in Shu. Later, he passed the imperial examination and ranked among the top three in the palace examination. The late emperor loved his talent and appointed him to the Imperial Academy. Later, he married and had children and settled down in the capital. But he still missed his hometown. During festivals, the Ning family in the capital sent horse teams to Shu to deliver goods and money. Shu also prepared local rituals and sent them back with the cars. This happened every year, no matter how far the journey was, or whether there was wind, thunder, rain or snow, it never stopped!"
Mei Niang was touched: "How can wind, thunder, rain and snow sever the blood relationship? Grandfather must be very homesick. He has retired, right? Why not take grandmother back to live in the hometown for a while?"
Ning Rulan smiled and said, "My grandmother was born in the capital. She was very weak. She only gave birth to two sons, and then she became ill and couldn't go anywhere. My grandfather missed his hometown, but because he loved my grandmother, he never left the capital. My grandfather was in good health, but he passed away before my grandmother. My grandmother was too sad and died of illness soon after. When she died, she left a will, wishing to be buried with my grandfather in his hometown. Now, my grandfather and grandmother have been resting in the ancestral grave in their hometown for nearly five years!"
Mei Niang said, "What a touching loving couple. Your grandfather was a noble civil servant in the Imperial Academy, but your father...your husband gave up civil service and became a military officer."
Ning Rulan sighed, "It's just like that. My father, as the eldest son, didn't like to study and was only willing to wield swords and sticks. My grandfather was helpless. Fortunately, my uncle was willing to study. Under the encouragement of my grandfather, he passed the examination and won a title. Now he is the sixth-rank Dali Temple Left Secretary."
"What kind of person is your grandfather?"
"Third rank."
"What rank is our second master?"
Ning Rulan looked outside the door and said softly, "Second Master used to work in the Ministry of Revenue, holding a third-rank position. Last year, he was appointed as an imperial envoy in charge of disaster relief in the southwest. Second Master trusted the wrong person and lost a lot of money for disaster relief. The victims did not receive food and clothing in time, and he was found out by the Censorate and impeached. The Emperor, for the sake of Lord Hou, only suspended his salary for a year, transferred him out of the Ministry of Revenue, and appointed him to another idle position... If it were someone else, he would be sentenced to death and thrown into prison!"
Mei Niang was stunned for a moment: "The Second Master came out of the Ministry of Revenue, but the Second Master went back in. Isn't this still making people remember the Xu family's affair?"
Ning Rulan smiled and said, "I heard from the Third Master that the Second Master is a truly capable person. The First Master is very proud. As soon as he came back, he asked the Hou Mansion to pay money to fill the large deficit made by the Second Master. It should be in the account book, didn't you see it? The remaining small amount is up to the Second Master to figure out a way. He asked the Emperor for grace and put the Second Master in the Ministry of Revenue. He probably wanted the Second Master to replace the Second Master and make more contributions to atone for his crime, so that people would have a better impression of the Xu Mansion and gradually forget the Second Master's mistakes."
Mei Niang seemed to be thinking about something: "I heard that several gentlemen in the mansion will enter the government after the New Year, and they will all receive very good official positions?"
Ning Rulan looked at Mei Niang strangely: "Didn't Master tell you? This time we won a great victory and lost our Seventh Master. The Emperor showed great favor and gave many rewards, including this: Let Master choose official positions for the brothers who passed the imperial examination. The masters are all Juren after all. Some of them have participated in the imperial examination and failed. The Sixth Master has worked hard for a year and still wants to participate in the imperial examination next spring. Whether he passes or not, he must take this opportunity to become an official."
Mei Niang nodded and said, "That's good. The men all have something to do, and we can rest assured!"
Inwardly, he secretly calculated that if Xu Junying could help his brother Qin Boqing, he would not have to work so hard there. He had already passed the imperial examination and should be a well-educated person. It should not be a problem for him to pass the imperial examination. What was the imperial court? If someone like Xu Junying could grab a few places at will, there must be a lot of cheating in the imperial examination. He was afraid that the Qin family had no background and their real talents would be buried. Qin Boqing had studied hard for many years and rushed back from other places in the cold weather, but he could not get any official position. Isn't it very unfair
Mei Niang didn't know what to say to Ning Rulan's doubts. Could it be that she couldn't see anything? Did she really think that Xu Junying and herself were like them, loving and affectionate, and could talk about anything
There was no need to be on guard in front of Rulan. Mei Niang said frankly, "My husband and I are not as close as you and the Third Master. We... got married in a hurry and haven't been together for a long time. I always feel a little strange. He treats me no better than he treats Cousin Yu and Cousin Lan. Don't you think so?"
Ning Rulan lowered her eyes, then raised them again to look at her, sighing sympathetically: "There is a saying in the mansion: Everyone says that the master married you because he was temporarily fascinated by your appearance. The old lady also asserted that the master will eventually come to his senses... But I don't think so. The master has great vision. You are an extremely good woman!"
Mei Niang smiled: "In this mansion, I'm afraid you're the only one who is willing to praise me like this. Fine! I appreciate it. In fact, I also think I'm a very good woman!"
Ning Rulan couldn't help but laugh and hit her lightly. Mei Niang suddenly asked, "Since your family has been officials for generations, do you have time to do business? I heard you say that your family has various shops."
Ning Rulan restrained her smile and said, "There are many families of officials in Beijing who have their own shops, but they just don't show up. Everything is handled by their subordinates. My mother's family has more than a dozen tea shops, seven or eight embroidery shops, and pawnshops in Beijing. They were all my mother's dowry. I have only seen my mother looking at the account books since I was a child. From time to time, the manager would come in to answer questions, but I have never seen her go out to check."
Mei Niang asked, "How many shops did my wife-in-law have as a dowry? Are there still as many shops now?"
Ning Rulan shook her head: "I heard from my mother that it was more than double. The manager Feng under her was her companion. He was very capable and made a lot of money from business over the years. He bought three good farms and gave them to me and my sisters as dowry."
Mei Niang couldn't help but say, "Wow! You have your own farm, you can be a landlord!"
Ning Rulan blinked, "What did you say? I don't want to be a landlord's wife! The farm has its own maid to take care of it. They will take care of the crops, fruits and vegetables, and livestock every year, and the money will be deposited into the account."
Mei Niang sighed: "I don't have any of these, no wonder people look down on me!"
Ning Rulan blushed slightly: "They are all external things, worthless. I, I talk to you very easily, without restraint..."
Mei Niang smiled and said, "If I minded these things, I wouldn't discuss them with you. Although I don't have any, I am very curious."
Ning Rulan nodded hurriedly: "I know you are a wise and clear-headed person. It is too vulgar to judge one's worth by the dowry. In fact, my dowry is not much, but the second wife's is much. She has three farms and countless shops. When she got married, she had a real ten-mile red dowry, with a total of 120 loads of dowry!"
"So many? Didn't it empty the Bai family's pockets?"
Ning Rulan smiled: "The Bai family will not be emptied out at that time. They are well-known as the wealthy family in Beijing."
Mei Niang asked: "Has the Bai family been doing business for generations?"
Ning Rulan shook her head. "Second grandma's grandfather was a businessman. The eldest grandfather of the Bai family who just passed away was a second-rank official in Beijing, in charge of grain transport. I also heard from Third Master that the Bai family got rich from grain transport. They used grain transport ships to carry local products, and all kinds of goods from the north and south flowed back and forth. This convenient thing has been done by the Bai family for many years!"
Mei Niang sighed, "You don't need to pay for travel expenses to do business, and you don't have to worry about being robbed of your money and goods by bandits. There are a large number of soldiers to protect you. It's really the best!"
"It hasn't been good in recent years. The business started to go wrong after the eldest master of the Bai family retired. He was ill for a year or so. Since his departure, the Bai Mansion has been in a state of disarray."
"He has made enough money to support his family for generations."
Ning Rulan said: "No matter how much silver there is, it is hard to stop the tossing and turning. The eldest master and the second master of the Bai family worked together to accumulate a large amount of property, which has been divided up by their descendants. The second grandmother's illness was half due to the cold she suffered from kneeling for a long time to show filial piety, and half due to heart disease. As soon as the eldest master of the Bai family was buried, more than a dozen descendants took advantage of the second master's illness and quickly divided the family property. The shares were determined by age, legitimacy, and illegitimate children. The eldest master only married one wife in his life, while the second master had many wives and concubines. The second house suffered a loss. The eldest master's sons were extremely powerful and divided up most of the property and real estate. The second master's illegitimate descendants got almost nothing, and some were even driven out of the house and lived in the corridors on the back street, which was originally where the Bai family's servants lived... After this, the second master was so angry that he can't even get up from his bed now."
Mei Niang looked at Ning Rulan. She didn't expect her to be so gossipy. "How did you know?"
Ning Rulan smiled and said, "Alas, I've been attending wedding banquets and gathering with sisters and sisters-in-law in the clan these days, and I've heard a lot of things. Do you know? Many people like to ask about you when they see me, and they all think you are a very lucky person. Because of your resurrection, you are now famous, which is a good thing!"
Mei Niang asked curiously, "What's the best way?"
Ning Rulan was about to speak but stopped, and Mei Niang pinched her gently. She smiled and said, "Don't be anxious, maybe this won't work. Master and Cousin Lan did grow up together as childhood sweethearts, but Master never agreed to marry Cousin Lan before. Could it be that he likes her now and wants to marry her in? Even the Third Master said that Master only has brotherly and sisterly feelings for Cousin Lan, and nothing more... If he really listened to the old lady and married Cousin Lan, according to Cousin Lan's background, she would not be a concubine, but he married you as his wife first and gave birth to Heng'er. Now your reputation as Marquis Weiyuan has spread everywhere, and you have been resurrected from the dead. Only a virtuous and kind person can have such an opportunity. Master just takes a concubine, and no one will say anything. If he leaves his virtuous wife and marries a new wife, people will talk about it. The Marquis's Mansion attaches great importance to face, and this matter was originally very difficult. I am most afraid that Master will be persuaded by the old lady, and his heart will soften, and he will go to the emperor to ask for grace, or if the old lady gets the queen mother's approval, then it will be different!"
Mei Niang pretended to be heavy-hearted and sighed, "Never mind, I'm tired of these things. The old lady and the mistress are all like this. They let the marquis marry a wife and concubines in the name of expanding his family. Think about his status, he should have several wives and concubines, right? Don't you think so?"
Rulan looked at her blankly: "Didn't you refuse?"
"Of course I won't." Mei Niang picked up the silver chopsticks and stirred the charcoal ash in the brazier. "They insisted on squeezing in, and I couldn't stop them. So forget it. I'll just quit. At worst, you can just give me a divorce letter and let me go back!"
Rulan grabbed her hand and said, "Sister-in-law, you are a royal concubine, and a royal concubine cannot be divorced! If you don't yield, I will just keep you in another courtyard and will never let you leave. You marry into the Xu family and are given a royal concubine. You can't change your surname, whether you live or die!"
Mei Niang was stunned: "No way? How old am I? Are you really going to lock me up for life?"
Rulan looked worried: "I think the master is a kind-hearted man. If it really comes to that, there should be a rule. He can't ignore you just because of the other one's noble family. Just bear with it. So what if you are both the principal wife? You were the first one to be brought into the family, and you had Heng'er first. No one can surpass you!"
Mei Niang smiled and shook her head: "Rulan, I advised you not to take a concubine for the Third Master, but you advised me to tolerate the Master marrying a new wife!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)